Demon of Fairy Tail
by RagnellAlondite
Summary: He was once their greatest mage. A mage powerful enough to fight against the Ten Wizard Saints to a draw. He has been gone for almost 90 years, and now he has awoken again. The Demon of Fairy Tail has returned and he is ready to defend his home.
1. Chapter 1

_AN* Ok, new story everybody! Had this idea bouncing around my head for awhile now but here is hoping that I did a good enough job on it. Enjoy and leave your reviews._

 **The Demon Awakens**

It was a grim day for the number one guild in all of Fiore. Phantom Lord had started a war with Fairy Tail and was now launching a massive attack against them. Erza and the other mages had just barely managed to hold off the first shot from Phantom Lord's Jupiter Cannon and now were faced with a fifteen minute time limit to stop the second, more powerful shot. As soon as Jose had finished the ultimatum something strange occurred. A gigantic white spell form appeared around the guild hall, shocking everyone who stared at it as it glowed brighter and brighter until it disappeared and a rumbling was felt by all.

"What is going on?!" Gray shouted.

"I... I don't know." Erza said in shock as the rumbling stopped and they saw that part of the ground had fallen, creating a massive stair that went down under the guild hall. Before anyone could say anything about this there was the sound of something akin to a roar and more rumblings were felt, sounding like footsteps were climbing from the depths of the abyss under the guild hall. For a few seconds the booms got louder and then softer as suddenly a figure appeared walking up the stairs. He was a blonde haired youth, close to Natsu's age if they had to guess, wearing black and orange pants and a red coat with black flames on the edge.

"*YAAAAAAWWWWNN*!" the youth growled as he opened his mouth wide as he finished climbing the stairs, stretching as he did and blearily opened his eyes and surveyed the area "I don't know any of you... Great..."

This caused most of the guild to face fall at the statement as the new youth glanced around some more, his cerulean eyes taking in the state of the Fairy Tail mages and then turned to look at the guild hall. When he turned back around his eyes were a dark thundercloud as he stared at the mobile Phantom Lord guild hall in front of him.

"Are they responsible for what happened here?" he asked, his voice a low growl as many of the mages nodded "Are they the ones that hurt all of you?" Again there was another wave of nods "Who is the guild master of that guild, and where is your guild master?"

"Jose Porla, and our master is Makarov Dreyar" Cana said as the blond looked at her for a moment before speaking.

"Makarov Dreyar is the guild master. Where is he?"

"He was injured by Phantom Lord." Erza explained as the blond's glare deepened. Taking a deep breath he turned towards Phantom Lord's building.

"JOSE!" he roared, startling Fairy Tail "You attacked my home! You attacked Makarov! And worse you attacked my nakama! You have made the last mistake you will ever make! You have pissed off the wrong man!"

"Who are you?" Gray asked with a frown as he saw the blond walking towards Phantom Lord.

"Me? I am Naruto Uzumaki, The Demon of Fairy Tail." Naruto grinned evilly as he sniffed the air a few times and turned towards Natsu "Dragon!"

"Yeah?!" Natsu jumped in surprise at the shout.

"Take out that Jupiter Cannon!" Naruto ordered.

"Right!" Natsu yelled as he and Happy took off to destroy the massive weapon as Naruto smirked as he saw the shades starting to appear.

"Hope you don't mind if I leave these to you. I am going hunting." Naruto stated as he crouched down and jumped up and started leaping up the giant legs of the Phantom Lord base, surprising everyone there by the act.

"Just who is that guy?" Erza asked as she shook her head before focusing on the shades. Naruto was soon inside the base, his nose sniffing the air as he started walking through, searching for Jose, and whoever it was that harmed Makarov. As he walked his nose soon picked up a scent and he grinned as he recognized it. Turning left at the next hallway Naruto made his way towards it when he suddenly felt floor start to shake and frowned as knew that this wasn't the result of some attack. Shrugging it off since he knew that this wasn't something he could do something about Naruto continued down the corridors until he finally arrived at the source of the smell and saw Natsu fighting a mage that was hitting him with some invisible attack. Sniffing the air again Naruto nodded and moved forward, catching Natsu as he got sent flying back.

"Easy Dragon." he stated as he patted his arm "This scum is mine."

"What?" Natsu asked in shock.

"You heard me." Naruto remarked as he helped him up "Go, there is another dragon in here that needs to be dealt with."

"You sure? He is strong."

"I'm strong too." Naruto grinned as he nodded for Natsu to leave "This scum is mine."

With that final word Natsu nodded and ran off as Naruto glared at the man in front of him.

"How sorrowful... Another young mage giving me his neck." Aria sobbed.

"Don't worry. I'll give you a reason to cry in just a second." Naruto grinned as he rolled his neck and slipped into a fighting stance "I haven't had a good fight in a long time. I'm going to enjoy making you bleed!"

With that Naruto charged forward as Aria simply sent more of his Zetsu spells at the blond but shocked the blindfolded man as he somehow weaved through the attacks with ease and managed to get in close enough to hit him with a right hook across the face, sending him flying towards a wall. Aria's mouth slipped into a frown as he stood up and tilted his head.

"Who are you?" he asked "I have no knowledge of you."

"I doubt you would." Naruto smirked as he grinned at the man "But all you need to know is that I am going to end you."

Aria only removed his blindfold in response and Naruto could feel the increase in his power as he did.

"It is so sad that you have forced this to happen. Your death will be so sorrowful." Aria sighed "But I hope will you be strong enough to entertain me. But no one has survived Zero, the Airspace of death!" With that he raised his arms so his palms were facing towards Naruto, with the right one on top and the left one on the bottom. As his spell went towards Naruto the blond only grinned as he started inhaling and instead of the attack hitting him it was drawn into the blond's mouth, shocking Aria.

"You... You are another dragon?!" Aria shouted in shock.

"Heh... You think I'm some dragon?" Naruto chuckled as he cracked his neck and patted his belly "No I am something far worse. Dragons have honor, dragons show mercy. Me? No, I respect those with honor but will fight without when I have to. I don't know the meaning of mercy, but then again... What can you expect from a demon?" Taking a deep breath a green with black tint spell seal appeared in front of him "Wind Demon's Rage!" With that the great wind shot forth, smashing into the mage and throwing him out into the air outside where the blond quickly followed "We aren't done yet! Wind Demon's Slashing Claw!" Wind magic wrapped around his fingers, turning them into claws as he swung them down, slashing into the mage and sending him smashing into the ground stories below with a massive dust cloud. Using the winds around him to slow his decent as he landed on the ground with a smirk looking at the wounded mage crying in pain.

"NO! S... Stay away!" Aria shouted as he saw Naruto standing over him.

"I told you I'd give you something to cry about." Naruto smirked as he turned and swung an arm behind him, destroying a shade that had been approaching as he looked at Aria again "I'd kill you, but you didn't kill Makarov so I will spare you. But if I ever see you again then I will rip your heart out."

Turning Naruto walked towards the mass amount of shades where he planned on cutting loose some more before heading off to find Makarov. Minutes passed as the blond cut loose on the spectral figures and during this fight Makarov returned, fighting Jose for a brief time before unleashing Fairy Law, destroying the shades and defeating Jose.

"Master!" The guild cheered as they saw their master back in full strength.

"I am glad to see my children are well." Makarov smiled as he looked at the guild members, not seeing Naruto sneaking up on the older man.

"Master, there is something that you should know." Cana began, but before she could finish Naruto struck, grabbing the guild master in a headlock and proceeded to noggie him.

"NOGGIE!" the blond yelled, shocking the members of Fairy Tail "Noggie noggie noggie noggie!"

"Dammit! Let me go!" Makarov shouted as he tried to wriggle out and finally made his arms increase in size and grabbed the blond and threw him "Dammit Naruto I told you to stop doing that!" There was a moment of stunned silence as he looked at the blond "Naruto?!"

"Heh. Do you know anyone else that is this awesome?" Naruto grinned as he stood up.

"You aren't awesome." Makarov stated as Naruto was soon crouched down with a storm cloud over his head.

"So mean..." he muttered.

"Naruto... Why are you awake?" Makarov asked.

"Blame Jose and his Jupiter Cannon." Naruto said as he bounced back so fast that the rest of the guild thought he might be bi-polar.

"Master, who is he?" Erza asked.

"This is Naruto Uzumaki. One of the original members of Fairy Tail, and the last resort should the guild come under attack." Makarov explained as everyone stood in shock as Naruto removed his coat and showed them the Fairy Tail mark on his upper back.

"How?" Erza finally asked.

"Thank the First." Naruto said as his eyes got a far away look in them.

"She was worried about something like this happening one day." Makarov explained "She feared that one day the guild would make someone angry enough to try and destroy us. So she asked Naruto to be placed in a special kind of stasis under the guild hall that would only trigger if they attacked the guild hall with members inside of it."

"So what kind of mage are you?" Gray asked.

"Wind Demon Slayer." Naruto replied with a grin as he looked at them "One of the few pure bred Demon Slayers that existed in the world before I went to sleep."

"Fight me!" Natsu shouted as he ran towards the blond demon slayer who only smirked as he put his right hand on the dragon's head.

"After we recover." Naruto promised with a grin "I'll take a fight with you when you are at your best."

"Yes!" Natsu shouted with a grin at the promise. There was soon talk of a party to celebrate the defeat of Phantom Lord and Naruto smiled as he looked at Makarov who was talking with Mira and Erza about the fact that they were innocent, and soon was crying at the fact that he would have to go to the trial about this issue.

"Cheer up Makarov." Naruto chuckled as he crouched down and patted his head "I'll go with you to the council, they are going to want to talk to me too."

"True..." Makarov nodded "Thanks Naruto."

"No problem." Naruto nodded as he stood back up and looked at the guild "Now who wants ramen?!" This was met with silence as Naruto shouted again "Who wants ramen?!... Seriously? No one? You guys suck..." Naruto then sulked off, in search of his favorite food while the rest of Fairy Tail stared at him like he was crazy.

Over the next week the councils army came in and interviewed everyone about what had occurred, though they oddly avoided Naruto saying that the council wanted to talk to him directly. Once the army was finished with it's investigation Makarov and Naruto were called to the meeting, with them going over the facts and it wasn't long before Makarov fell asleep and Naruto was bored out of his mind.

"Makarov!" one of the councilors shouted, waking the old master.

"Huh?" he exclaimed sleepily.

"We're cleared." Naruto sighed as the old man nodded "We done?"

"Not yet. There is the matter of your return Naruto Uzumaki. We were told that you died close to seventy-five years ago." Org remarked as he stared at the young man "But here you are, alive and not looking a day over 30."

"25 actually." Naruto remarked as he looked at them "I believe we already explained as to how and why I am alive and am so young."

"Yes, but the details have been left out." Michello remarked "That is something that needs to be discussed, and to make sure that this kind of thing doesn't happen again."

"It can't." Naruto sighed "Mavis was the only one that knew the spell, and said that it was a one time deal. Hence why the conditions of my reawakening were so strict."

"I see." Seigrad nodded as he met the blond's gaze "There is another matter that I would like to discuss with you. Your file is under triple S rank classification. It is odd that it is classified to even some members of the council."

"It's in regard to some jobs I did for the council." Naruto stated "If you don't have the clearance to read it then I will not talk about it."

"Mister Uzumaki, there are only two people here who have a SSS rank clearance." Crawford Seam stated "However I have not opened this file as I would like you to tell the rest of the council what is in here so we may make an informed decision."

"I can't." Naruto said as he looked at the chairman with ease "You see I swore that unless the person has that level of clearance or has been granted access to The Deeps that I would not speak of what is in that file unless it was of dire importance."

"And what if we were to deem it necessary to reveal it?" Ultear asked.

"Then you clearly have a death wish. You release me from my word and I only have two words to say to you. Weapon X." Naruto stated with a smirk as he saw the two council members with the appropriate clearance shift with unease "So if there is nothing else than I will be going now."

With that Naruto walked out of the room with Makarov who looked at Naruto with a frown.

"Weapon X?" he asked.

"Can't talk about it." Naruto replied "You know how I am with my word."

"True enough." Makarov nodded.

"That was a close one old friend." Yajime stated as he exited the council chamber behind them "You owe me three bowls of ramen for this one."

"I like this guy." Naruto smiled as Makarov sighed and tried to barter with the councilor until he finally gave in to the three bowls of ramen.

"You might want to consider retirement soon." Yajime stated "I can't keep protecting Fairy Tail forever."

After saying their farewells the pair made their way back towards the guild hall when Makarov brought up the matter.

"Yajime has a point. I am getting on in years and I should probably choose the Fourth." Makarov sighed.

"Well who are your options?" Naruto asked.

"Gildarts is our ace, but he is away too often. Mystogan is another S rank but he doesn't like to interact with the guild much. Erza is too young and strict to take over. And Laxus, my grandson, still has a lot of growing to do. There is always you."

"No." Naruto said "I am not the best option."

"You care about Fairy Tail with every fiber of your being, and you would do what it takes to protect everyone."

"And would also likely cause a massive catastrophe that gets the guild shut down." Naruto chuckled "You've forgotten what it's like to have me around again."

"It has been a long time." Makarov sighed as they walked "Hard to believe that you are the older one here."

"Hard to believe that you never grew taller, I mean your dad was a pretty good height." Naruto noted as Makarov glared at him. Once they were back at the Guild Hall Makarov went off to handle some more paperwork before getting a drink from Mira when Naruto spotted Laxus.

"When I finally take over as Guild Master, I will get rid of all you weaklings first." Laxus laughed evilly, and stopped when he felt a hand on his throat. Before he could react Naruto threw him straight out the door of the building and was following after him, anger written in every fiber of his being.

"Care to repeat yourself?" Naruto hissed as he walked outside, the wind itself starting to rise up in his anger "Because I could have sworn that you were just badmouthing your own guildmates."

"And if I was?" Laxus snapped.

"Then we are going to have words." Naruto stated as the wind increased and Laxus felt a slight tinge of worry "Fairy Tail was built for all, not just the strong. I will not let you sully it's name with your arrogance." Naruto took a step closer, towering over Laxus who had yet to stand up "Because you are Makarov's grandson I will not spill your blood today but I will make it perfectly clear where we stand. As you are now I will be dead before I let you become Guild Master and ruin the guild that Mavis built. If I so much as think that you are going to be a problem than I will personally tear you apart!" The last word came out as a roar as the winds died out and Naruto turned and walked back towards the building "Let this be your only warning Laxus Dreyar, The Demon of Fairy Tail has returned and I will not let anyone harm Mavis's creation."


	2. Chapter 2

_AN* Hello everyone. First off, let me warn you now that there is no action in this chapter, this is more character building and laying the groundwork for later events. Secondly this was a question from Jose19 that I feel needs to be addressed here and now. Naruto is physically 25, as he is a year younger than Mavis(Just for reference for all of you), but his actual age would be at 113. Ok, leave your reviews at the end._

 **Recollection**

It was a warm day when Naruto walked into the Fairy Tail, a pack on his shoulder heading towards Makarov.

"Going somewhere?" the guild master asked with a frown.

"The cabin." Naruto nodded "Just stopping by to give you the heads up."

"The cabin? It may not even be there anymore." Makarov frowned.

"One way to find out." Naruto shrugged "If it's not I will be very pissed."

Makarov blinked and silently prayed that no one had destroyed it, since he didn't want to deal with Naruto in a blood rage. Waving farewell Naruto walked out of the building and out of Magnolia, heading towards the mountains in the distance.

"Where is he going?" Mira asked Makarov once Naruto had left.

"His cabin. Not too long after joining Fairy Tail he went out into the mountains where he built himself a cabin that he would stay at now and again. Only a handful of people knew where it was at, and that was eighty-eight years ago. Now maybe one other person would know where it is and even then I doubt it." Makarov sighed.

"Why build a cabin so far away?" Mira frowned.

"He liked his privacy for starters. And he lived alone most of his young life until he joined Fairy Tail, so when things got too crowded here or he just needed space he would go to the cabin and cool off. You can ask him more when he gets back." Makarov shrugged "I wasn't born yet for most of Naruto's time here in Fairy Tail. Most of what I know are just stories that my father told me about him, the legendary Demon of Fairy Tail, the man who knew no fear and was unstoppable in battle."

It took over a day to reach the cabin and as soon as he entered the forest he knew that no one had found this place as the game trails had been completely overrun by the underbrush, making the way to and from hazardous. As the sun rose Naruto reached the small clearing where the log cabin that he built still stood. It wasn't anything fancy but to Naruto it was his home, with the stone outline of the fire pit just visible over the grass and the stone path leading to his front door surrounded by grass and weeds. Walking towards the door Naruto stopped as he looked at the log to the right of the door to see an X shape slashed into it and frowned at this. Reaching down he ran a hand over it to see that it was still a jagged and not worn down, indicating that it was fresh.

"No more than a few days old." Naruto muttered as he sniffed the area and blinked at the scent before smirking "So you're still alive... Interesting." With that Naruto unlocked the door and stepped inside to see a thick layer of dust on everything. Sighing he opened the windows and took a deep breath before using his wind magic to blow the dust outside in massive clouds, lifting the blankets and sheets off the bed to do the same to them as well as the pillows. Once dusted Naruto began looking around the place, deciding on what he would take back with him once he was moved into one of apartments near the guild or into the building near it that rented out rooms to the guild members. It was mostly a few different changes of clothes and his books, as well as two photos, one of him and the entire Fairy Tail guild that he had asked for just before going to sleep, so he could remember everyone, and with a smirk he picked out Makarov, in his father's arms just to the left of Naruto in the center of the picture with Mavis. The other one brought a sad smile to his face as he picked up the ring that lay in front of the picture.

"If only." he sighed as he put the ring into his pocket and gently placed the photos in his pack. Turning back to the table he saw that there was a letter sitting on it and frowned as he opened it to see the messy scrawl of one of the few people that he trusted and respected to a degree.

"Dear Brat,

You haven't met up with me like we agreed on so I assume that you are busy with Fairy Tail, so I'll leave this message here and drop another one off at Fairy Tail for when you come back. I know we agreed that after everything that we had done that we would be able to walk away but I found some information that needs to be passed on. That bastard is still alive. We burned his body but he somehow tricked us. I've seen the evidence with my own eyes and know that it's recent, sometime in the last few days. I'm going to try and track him down and wait for you before engaging him since I know that he is going to be stronger this time after how badly we beat him last time.

If you can't meet up with me I'll get word to the Council and get one of the Ten Wizard Saints to come give me a hand with this but it can't wait too long. If you aren't able to join in I understand. I know that you've been talking about popping the question to that girl you're sweet on and starting a family of your own. My personal advice on the matter is to do it. Don't waste any time or make up some excuse. Time is short and so is life, and before you know it it may be too late. Make the most out of your life and don't become an old fart like me without finding and achieving your own happiness, so that means knowing when to pass the fight onto somebody else.

In the end I just want you to have a good life, the life that your parents envisioned your having before they died. You've already made them proud with everything that you have done so don't worry too much. Be safe and happy,

Your friend and Mentor,

Jiraiya

P,S,

I'm leaving six crates of Sage Saki at Fairy Tail for you, since I don't know if I will get to see you again and I know how much you like that stuff. One of the best things that I got to pass on to you, well that and my impeccable ability with the ladies."

Naruto read this and at that last line he had to stop and laugh as he remembered all the times that Jiraiya had been shot down or beaten up by various women that he had asked out onto dates. Shaking his head at this he put the letter back into the envelope gently and nodded as he started out again, making his way towards Magnolia again. By early afternoon the next day Naruto walked back into Fairy Tail, heading straight towards Makarov, grabbing him by the back of the neck and holding him in the air as he glared at him.

"Naruto?! What the hell are you doing?!" he shouted.

"Why didn't you tell me that there was Sage Saki here?" Naruto hissed out earning a gulp from the guild master

"W...Well... You see..." he tried to explain before Naruto just threw him across the room, letting him smash through a table and bounce off the wall before coming flying back towards him.

"NEVER!" Naruto began as he back handed the incoming master "HIDE!" punching him as he came flying back again "SAGE SAKI!" kicking the master up into the ceiling "FROM ME!" Naruto simply turned and took a seat at the bar where Makarov landed back in his seat, bruised and extremely dizzy "You may be the Guild Master but you are still younger than me and I know that you dad would have told you to never hide that saki from me."

"I forgot..." Makarov sighed "It's not like anyone can drink it."

"That sounds like a challenge!" Cara shouted from her seat.

"Get over here and try some then!" Naruto shouted back to her as he smiled at Mira "Please go get us a bottle."

"Uh... sure..." she nodded, slightly terrified of Naruto as she walked into the back.

"So what is Sage Saki?" Cara asked.

"Strongest saki ever made." Makarov replied "It was crafted by mages that spent their entire lives creating a saki that was both strong in taste and had the ability to purify a person's magic."

"So strong that any lesser mage that drinks it is usually knocked unconscious by the time they finish their first glass." Naruto continued "It's kind of like a mark of how strong your magic is if you can drink more than one glass and remain lucid."

"I still give all new S rank mages one glass to see how much potential they have." Makarov nodded.

"How have the newbies handled it?" Naruto asked, clearly intrigued.

"Well Gildarts was lucid, but just barely. Mystogan was drunk. Laxus barely stayed conscious when he took his but he was very young so that may have changed. Erza tried it and actually liked it, though she was clearly drunk as well." Makarov listed off.

"And I almost forswore liquor." Mira replied as she brought up the bottle "And that only finished off the first bottle. This is the second bottle out of the first crate."

"Damn. You either made sure that no one was drinking this while I was asleep or you are all lightweights." Naruto laughed as Mira just smiled as she poured him and Cara glass "Cheers."

"Cheers!" Cara grinned as she downed her saki in one pull and her eyes bugged out of her head at how strong the liquor was. Naruto only smirked as he sipped his and glanced at Cara who was barely conscious though clearly far past drunk.

"That wash amashing." she slurred as she tried to stand and fell to the ground with a laugh.

"Potential there." Naruto noted with a smirk and looked at Makarov with a raised eyebrow as he nodded towards the bottle.

"I'll pass." Makarov chuckled "It was always too strong for me."

"And you call yourself Master." Naruto laughed "Good thing it isn't a drinking contest to get that position."

This got a laugh from several other members of the guild as Naruto took a moment to look over the various guild members and noted a few faces missing.

"So where did the dragon and his friends go?"

"They had tickets that Loki gave Lucy to a hotel or something like that." a man at one of the tables in the back called out.

"Pity. Was planning on sparring with the dragon." Naruto sighed as he turned back to the bar "Guess I'll wait til he gets back."

"Going to be awhile." Mira noted "And knowing them he will come back having destroyed something expensive or gotten into a fight."

"Ah, a kid after my own heart." Naruto chuckled as he finished his saki and smiled as he set the glass down and enjoyed the warmth that the liquor was giving him.

"So your trip to the cabin went as planned?" Makarov asked.

"Yeah." Naruto nodded as he nodded towards his pack "Picked up everything that I was going to need and left the place ready to be reused at a moment's notice." He paused for a moment as he took a ring out of his pocket and stared at it with melancholy that was unnatural on the face of the wild young man "Hey Makarov..."

"Yes?" the older man asked.

"What was it like... Being married?"

Makarov sighed as he looked at Naruto and patted his shoulder as he began "It was some of the happiest years of my life. Growing old with my beautiful wife, raising my son and grandson. They were good times that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world."

"Did you know that I was going to ask her to marry me?"

"There was a rumor my father told me, that you had planned on it before accepting Mavis's request."

"Could never say no to her." Naruto sighed as he flicked the ring up into the air and caught it before it hit the bar "I always wonder what would have happened if I had said no and lived my life normally."

"You'd be dead now for starters, or extremely ancient." Makarov chuckled "You grandkids would likely be running around this guild causing as much havoc as Natsu. And they would be happy trying to live up to the standards that you set here."

"Maybe." Naruto sighed as he stared at the ring before snapping himself out of the sad thoughts "Hey Mira, do you have a chain or bit of string that I could use?"

"I have an old necklace chain that I don't use anymore." she offered as she walked over to a small box and took out a dark metal chain that was unadorned and looked slightly worn down.

"Perfect." Naruto nodded as he took the necklace and slipped the chain through the ring before clasping it around his neck and letting it fall onto his chest. With a nod he stood up and grabbed his pack "Well I better go find myself a place to live full time now that I am staying for good."

"Anywhere in particular?" Makarov asked.

"Whatever speaks to me first." Naruto replied as he left waving with his free left hand as he walked out the doors.


	3. Chapter 3

_AN* Hello everyone, not much to say execpt I would love to see some more review for this story. Anything that catches your eye, something wrong, something good, just plain ramblings. Anything is good. Okay, enjoy the lastest chapter._

 **Wind And Lightning**

Naruto frowned as he looked over the piece of mail in his hands. It had been two weeks since the firing of Ethilion and now there was a new Council in place and they had sent him a request to come and speak with them. This posed a few different problems in his mind, mainly due to the fact that he could already guess what they wanted him to talk about and knew that they were likely going to be making a stink over his refusal.

"Problem?" Mira asked as she saw him staring at the letter.

"Maybe..." Naruto sighed "New Mages Council wants to talk to me."

"What did you do?" Cara asked with a grin.

"Nothing that can be proven." Naruto retorted almost a little too quickly, getting a snort from Makarov "What was that about?"

"I heard more stories about you then anyone else. You and trouble are like Siamese Twins."

"I take offense to that statement." Naruto huffed before sighing and pushing back his chair "I'd better go deal with the windbags."

"Have fun with that." Makarov chuckled "Try to get it settled quickly and be back in time for the Magnolia Harvest Festival."

"I'll do what I can." Naruto nodded as he walked out of the Guild. It only took him a day to get to the council, seeing as how he walked the entire way to give himself time to come up with every type of excuse that he could to make sure that the council didn't get itself destroyed by angry mobs of civilians. As he walked into the meeting he found that there was only one person there to speak with him.

"You are Naruto Uzumaki correct?" he asked.

"I am. Who the hell are you and where is the rest of the council." Naruto stated, slightly annoyed.

"I am the only one with SSS rank clearance you impetuous brat!" he snapped before calming down and speaking "You may call me Chairman or Gran Doma."

"Fine then Gran Doma." Naruto nodded "What do you want to talk to me about?"

"I assume you are aware of the topic as I am the only one here." he sneered "Let us not waste time playing games."

"Fine." Naruto nodded "Are we going to talk here or go into The Deeps first?"

"We'll talk as we go to The Deeps." Gran Doma stated as he motioned for Naruto to follow him.

"So what is it specifically that you want to discuss. To my knowledge most of what I handled that was SSS rank clearance was settled." Naruto remarked.

"It was, at the time. After reviewing the information however we have concerns that the information may have been leaked by the traitors that were in the council." Gran Doma replied.

"You want a threat assessment." Naruto nodded "Fair enough. What project?"

"There are two that you were involved in, I'd like an assessment on both. See if they were accessed recently, and what countermeasures we need to take if they have been accessed and someone manages to use them." Gran Doma stated "You are being paid for your time of course."

"I'd better be." Naruto huffed as they reached the prison cells and Gran Doma moved to the front where he placed his hand on the back wall, and the spell seal appeared before disappearing and allowing the pair to walk down deeper into the building. The stairs were steep and it took twenty minutes to climb all the way down before they reached the high security vault that was The Deeps. A specialized vault that had been made to house dark magics that were never meant to see the light of day, data on experiments that were never to be conducted again but too valuable to other projects to be destroyed, as well as holding ancient magics that no one understood anymore.

Gran Doma led the way to the room that was marked X10 and unlocked it, allowing Naruto to enter as well. Naruto took a deep breath through his nose and nodded before looking around the room once more.

"No one to my senses has been down here but that doesn't mean that someone wasn't. Or that someone hasn't replicated the experiments while I was asleep." Naruto stated as he turned to Gran Doma "Which one do you want to start with?"

"Start with the first experiment." Gran Doma shrugged.

"Fine." Naruto nodded as he walked to the right side of the room and tapped the file cabinets that held the files "Classified as experiment Zeta 5, this experiment was being tested on Ruin Knights, all willing test subjects during the initial trials. The purpose of these experiments was to bestow a greater restoration ability on them, essentially make them harder to kill by mages. Initial trails were conducted on volunteers only and after a hundred trials there were a hundred deaths and they were no closer to finding the solution. The problem apparently was that it was saping them of their life force, killing them in seconds when they likely had more than forty years left to live. The project was shelved for a few years before another team of scientists found it and attempted to perfect it. There was only one success and it ties directly into the other experiment in this room."

"How so?" Gran Doma frowned.

"The other experiment is classified as experiment Omega 1. This experiment defied the laws of nature in the eyes of many people and was conducted on unwilling test subjects." Naruto began a slight snarl in his voice "The purpose of these tests was to bestow magical abilities onto a normal person. To essentially flood their bodies with liquefied Lacrima, in hopes that it would take and give them magic. The plan was to build an army of mages out of normal people to destroy Dark Guilds and any guild that the council didn't approve of. Thousands of people died before they combined this project with Zeta 5, giving them only one survivor before he destroyed the project and all of it's staff himself. Codename Weapon X."

"Weapon X. So he was a normal man turned mage?"

"Not quite a mage." Naruto sighed as he shook his head "X was subjected to some of the worst tortures imaginable because of this experiment and gained something that is not quite a true magic. He gained the healing ability from Zeta 5 and a very weak, but still very deadly, form of body alteration magic. When the test was finished X snapped and killed everyone inside the lab and fled into the wilderness. That was when I was hired to track him down and kill him. I didn't learn any details until I tracked him down and he calmed down enough to speak again. Once he told me what happened we made a pact. I would ensure that the council would never do such a thing again, or make sure that all of Fiore knew what had happened. In return he would never seek vengeance against the council."

"You let him live even though you were hired to stop that beast?!"

"He was a man forcefully turned into a beast!" Naruto snapped in turn and Gran Doma blinked at the rage in Naruto and realized that he was alone with a mage that was rumored to be willing to kill anyone that got in his way before he had joined Fairy Tail "The council from 90 years ago made a grave error and once it was made clear that they would be shut down, not just losing their seats but leaving all of Fiore as it was before they existed, they agreed to this proposal and agreed to never use this information again and swore that no one ever would. So think very carefully Gran Doma, because if you are thinking about using this information I will tear you world down around you."

"I understand." the man nodded as he looked at the still enraged face of Naruto "I just want a threat assessment on what to do if someone made another Weapon X."

"The original would turn up again and likely kill those responsible." Naruto snorted "He can't die, and I suspect he is still alive today."

"He is?!"

"I only suspect it but I could be wrong." Naruto stated "Anyways should another one be created you have a few options. The best one is touse the Ruin Knights to keep them in one place while you use enough mages to paralyze them. Once that's done you need to stap them through the heart, keep it there. They can't heal from a wound that is still there but they won't die either. Manage to keep a weapon of some kind in that wound at all times and they will be stuck in a constant state of death. But should they escape they will go on a rampage that you wouldn't believe. Your best and safest bet is to talk and reason with them. As long as you are not responsible and punish those that are the person should be willing to listen to reason."

"That is working on the assumption that they are using an unwilling test subject." Gran Doma pointed out.

"Do you know anyone that would willingly put their life at risk for the weakest magic you can imagine and never being able to die no matter what is done to you? Your odds of survival are one in a million, and even then there is not guarantee that it will work the same way twice."

"I see... Is there anything else that we should know?"

"That should cover it." Naruto replied as he walked towards the door "You can read the files if you want all of the technical details, I didn't want to know any more then I already did when I first handled this."

"Of course. Speak with the secretary on your way out, they will give you your pay." Gran Doma nodded as Naruto left.

Naruto wasn't in any rush as he went back to Fairy Tail, already a day ahead of schedule as the festival wouldn't be til the next day. Naruto was a short distance away when he what sounded like fighting coming from Magnolia. Stopping on a rise overlooking the town Naruto saw the fights raging between the guild members and noted that Natsu and the female members of the guild were not present.

"Laxus..." Naruto growled as he started to walk towards the town, joined by a person Naruto had never met. He was completely covered by a black cloak and had several staves on his back and the way he moved he was just as outraged.

"Mystogan or Gildarts?" Naruto asked as they walked.

"Mystogan. You?"

"Naruto Uzumaki, Demon of Fairy Tail."

"Ah. I had heard stories about you from the Master." Mystogan nodded as they entered the town "Laxus needs to be stopped."

"Agreed." Naruto nodded as he cracked his neck with a grin "I guess it's time to discipline the kid."

That got a laugh from Mystogan as he started walking while Naruto moved to the roofs as he leapt from building to building, noting that whomever had set up the various spells that he kept smelling in the air, clearly hadn't planned on having someone move by rooftop. Naruto sniffed the air a few times before grinning as he found Laxus. Leaping forward from building to building Naruto made a direct line towards the church and skidded to a stop just outside of the building. Walking forward Naruto kicked the door open and saw Laxus blink in shock as he saw him.

"Found you." Naruto grinned as the wind started to pick up "I don't know what you did, or how you did it. Personally I don't give a damn about the how. But you turned your nakama against each other. You raised your hand against Fairy Tail. I warned you what would happen Laxus Dreyar!"

As Naruto shouted Laxus's name the wind picked up to a screaming gale and Laxus was a little worried about this before grinning as lightning sparked from his fingers.

"You think I'm scared of you?!"

"No. I know you are." Naruto grinned.

"Hardly! I've been looking forward to the chance to crush the strongest mage of the original Fairy Tail!" Laxus laughed as he raised a fist and sent a blast of lightning towards Naruto who's grin only widened as he swung an arm in a dismissive gesture and the wind blasted the lightning away.

"Foolish." Naruto snorted "You don't understand elements very well do you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The five basic elemental magics, the ones that all other elements can be traced back to are Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, and Water. Those are the core elements that make up all life. Each is stronger to two and weak against two, thus ensuring balance. Lightning has a distinct advantage against Earth and Water, but against my Wind magic. Well you are outclassed." Naruto explained as he moved into a fighting stance "So what now Laxus Dreyar? Will you run like a boy, or stand your ground like a man?"

Laxus was trembling now, in barely controlled rage. Here was this ancient mage, the man who had set the standard for strength in Fairy Tail belittling him as though he were nothing more then a child. He couldn't handle the thought of being thought of weak and with a roar of anger charged Naruto, lightning flashing from his fists as he swung.

Naruto only chuckled as he wrapped his own fists in wind, blocking the various strikes with ease, and letting the wind disrupt the lightning before it could even so much as make the hairs on his arms stand on end. The physical might was a different matter as Laxus had a greater deal of pure muscle on him, giving his blows that much extra might without the magic to augment him while Naruto had the lean muscles needed to keep a fight going for longer periods of time. Twisting with Laxus's next punch Naruto brought a kick into his side that sent him flying across the width of the cathedral, right into one of the walls where he bounced off of it, and right into the charging Naruto's spell forming fist.

"Wind Demon's Crushing Fist!" Naruto roared as he brought a massive wind stream smashing into Laxus, sending him crashing into the wall with such force that he couldn't even cry out in pain. When Naruto stopped he grabbed the youth by the front of his shirt and threw him over his shoulder where he bounced on the ground a few times before getting back up.

"Heh... You are something else Demon." Laxus chuckled darkly as he removed his shirt, revealing the Fairy Tail symbol and the now forming scales on his arms "But I am not finished yet! Lightning Dragon's Roar!"

Naruto blinked at the electricity that was hurtling towards him before sucking in a breath of his own "Wind Demon's Rage!"

With that Naruto launched his own attack back at Laxus's spell and watched as the spells hit with an explosive detonation, sending both of the skidding back as Laxus stopped when he glanced to his right and saw that Evergreen, one of his bodyguards and member of the Thunder God Tribe, had been beaten and all of his hostages had been freed.

"Game over Laxus." Naruto grinned "From that look on your face you just lost your leverage over Fairy Tail. If you want to keep fighting I am more then willing to school you though."

"I am not nearly finished yet." Laxus laughed as he triggered his next spell and Naruto sensed the lightning in the air, but felt like it was contained.

"What did you do?" Naruto asked with a growl.

"Imperial Thunder Palace!" Laxus laughed "Around the town are 300 Lacrima imbued with Lightning. In one hour and ten minutes they will go off and destroy the town unless Gramps resigns and makes me the next Guild Master of Fairy Tail!"

"All of this... All of this to become Guild Master?"

"Yes! I can't stand Fairy Tail being thought of as weak! I won't allow the weaklings that are polluting this guild to remain!"

"Idiot..." Naruto muttered as he looked at Laxus with anger "You call your nakama weak. You call those that are you friends and comrades weak? You are the one that doesn't belong here Laxus!" With that shout Naruto sent a blast of wind towards Laxus that made him take a step back "Fairy Tail was meant for everyone! Not just the strong! We do not seek to be the greatest and that is exactly what makes us great! We may be destructive, we may be fools sometimes, but we are a family! And you have shunned this family for strength! Mavis is probably crying now because of you, and I will not allow you to stain her guild a moment longer! DIE YOU SCUM! Wind Demon's Sundering Wings!" Bringing his arms back as far as they would go the wind wrapped around them in a howling gale that was nearly deafening before he swung his arms forward, the wind unleashed and slashing through the stone floor of the cathedral as it shot towards Laxus who reacted quickly in turn to try and save himself.

"Lightning Dragon's Breakdown Fist!" Laxus shouted as he sent the massive blast of lightning at the wind and the attack exploded with tremendous force but was not enough to fully stop the wind as it shot through and instead of shredding Laxus to the point that he would have been a puddle on the floor it made a few shallow cuts while pushing him back a few feet. Panting Laxus saw Naruto cocking his head to the side with a smirk.

"You survived that? Maybe I underestimated you." Naruto hummed as he made a fist with his left hand and slammed it down onto his open right hand where a pure white spell seal appeared "Energy Make: Chains of Submission!"

From the spell seal shot hundreds of pure white chains that shot out and wrapped around Laxus, binding him until he looked like he was in a cocoon. Once he was completely encased Naruto moved his hands and spoke.

"See I'm not just a one trick pony. Had to learn early on that I needed a backup magic against enemies that are skilled enough to counter my Demon Slaying magics, or have a massive advantage against me. That will hold you for awhile while we deal with your toys. Don't go anywhere." Naruto laughed as he turned and started to leave, just as Laxus's rage hit it's peak as he shattered the chains in a blast of lightning.

"Don't look down on me!" Laxus roared as he seemed to turn into lightning and appeared above Naruto before the blond could react "Lightning Dragon's Jaw!" Slamming a double hammerfist down onto the blond where the electricity hit him as hard as Laxus could make it as he raised up a fist, intent on keeping up the onslaught "Lightning Dragon's Iron Fist!"

"Wind Demon's Winding Tail!" Naruto shouted as he spun around, his legs making what seemed to be a tail that wrapped around Laxus's arm before the attack could hit as he then threw him across the room, letting him smash into one of the pillars as Naruto stood back up with a grin "That was good hit. Didn't think you had it in you to try and break free of my Chains of Submission." Laxus said nothing as he stood up slowly "But do I look like someone with a glass jaw? One hit won't win the fight and you aren't looking to good there kid."

"Quit... Quit calling me kid!" Laxus shouted as he raised his left arm into the air "Resounding through the air, the roar of thunder, plunges from the heaves and reaps destruction! Raging Bolt!" As he finished the chant Laxus brought the fist down as a large ball of lightning smashed down to where Naruto was standing.

The blond only brought his fist down for another Energy Make spell as he shot his hand through it, creating what seemed to be a swirling sphere that slammed into the Raging Bolt and to Laxus's horror shattered it.

"Energy Make: Rasengan." Naruto chuckled as he sphere disappeared "Took me awhile to make that technique when I was first learning Energy Make, but then I was mostly self taught." Laxus stared at the smiling blond who was walking towards him again "I got to admit that you have surprised me. No wonder you're S rank. But strength isn't what Fairy Tail needs, and it isn't what Fairy Tail wants. So be a good kid, AND GO TO SLEEP!" With a shout Naruto was off, his fists encased in wind again as he brought them smashing into Laxus's face, knocking him back a few steps as he brought the hands together with the familiar green and black tinted spell seal appeared in front of him "Wind Demon's Secret Technique: Tornado Buster!" From both of his hands hot two small tornadoes that smashed into Laxus, lifting him off the ground and sending him smashing into the wall at the back of the cathedral where he dropped to the ground, stunned and barely able to move.

"We're here to help!" Natsu shouted as he, Erza and Mystogan ran into the room and saw Laxus already unconscious and a slightly electrocuted Naruto.

"I got it." Naruto laughed "Though we might want to take care of the Imperial Thundre Palace."

"He's right." Mystogan nodded as they walked outside while Erza gave directions to everyone to target a sphere.

"We split the two hundred between us." Naruto told Erza.

"Are you sure?"

"I can handle it. I just need to be high up." Naruto nodded as he leapt up to the top of the church using a burst of wind to lift him to the top of the bell tower, where once the signal was given they struck as one "Energy Make: Chains of Destruction!" With that one hundred bladed chains shot out and went towards a hundred of the Lacrima, impacting them and shattering them with little effort on Naruto's part, though the electricity hitting him was painful enough for Naruto to almost lose consciousness.

"I got you!" Happy called out as he flew down to grab Naruto before he fell, dropping him off at the side of the church where the less injured guild members got the wounded to the guild to be treated by Porlyusica.

Naruto slept most of the day and awoke less than an hour before the parade that was to be held. Getting up slowly and putting his coat back on he walked out of the room to find Makarov looking a little sad.

"You excommunicated him didn't you." it wasn't a question.

"I had no choice. He put not only Fairy Tail but all of the town in danger." Makarov said simply.

"Had to be done." Naruto nodded "He's got real talent I'll say that much. Didn't know he was raised by a dragon."

"He wasn't."

"Hm... Then I have some questions for him." Naruto hummed.

"Leave it for now. It's time for the parade." Makarov said.

"I'll pass. I didn't have time to rehearse." Naruto chuckled sheepishly "Got to busy kicking your grandson around the cathedral."

"And getting electrocuted." Makarov nodded "Go and talk to him then. I doubt he's left just yet."

Nodding the blond slipped out of the guild, heading through the crowds where he followed his nose to find Laxus standing in an alley, waiting to watch the parade.

"You're up already?" Laxus asked in surprise "You really are a demon."

"So I've been told." Naruto nodded as he stood next to the man "I'm sorry it came to this."

"Me too..."

"And sorry if I did any lasting damage. When it comes to Fairy Tail I can be a little irrational." Naruto admitted.

"I deserved it." Laxus replied as the parade started.

"I doubt you can ever come back to the guild." Naruto noted as he watched his nakama "But that doesn't mean you aren't family."

"Family huh?"

"Trust me on this one, no matter where you are Fairy Tail will always be family to you. It was to me." Naruto smiled sadly.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

The pair stood there for a time watching the guild perform and when Makarov came into view, making an odd looking symbol with his hand that the rest of the guild imitated Naruto saw that Laxus was starting to cry over it.

"They are family, and I let them down." Laxus said as he walked away.

"Maybe. But that doesn't mean you can't make amends. Family is there to knock sense into you when you get a big head." Naruto said "And by the way."

"Yes?"

"Who gave you the Lightning Dragon Slayer abilities?"

"... My dad."

"I see." Naruto nodded as started to leave "Goodbye Laxus Dreyar, safe journey to you."

Laxus nodded at this as he walked away, leaving behind Fairy Tail but gaining the support of the Demon that inhabited it.


	4. Chapter 4

_AN* Hello again one and all. Another slight filler chapter before we get to the real action but this was a necessary evil for what I have planned. So bare with me and please enjoy. And to the guest reviewer who said that there is no higher rank then S, clearly you haven't played many video games as most ranking systems will include SS and SSS ranks as well._

 **Warning**

Naruto frowned as he sat with Makarov in his office looking over the message that they had received.

"Be a good chance to bust their nose." Naruto nodded in thought "Though I don't know anything about this particular group."

"I doubt you would. The only member of the Balam Alliance that you would likely know is Tartaros." Makarov replied "But who should we send?"

"Well I doubt that each guild will send more then four combat mages, so why not Erza's team?" Naruto asked.

"You don't want to go?" Makarov blinked.

"Nah. As much as I love busting a Dark Guild I'd rather have the odds against me." Naruto chuckled "So send them?"

"Yes, they should be suitable for the task." Makarov agreed.

"Sounds good. I'll let you tell them, I need to find a job." Naruto said as he walked out of the office and towards the job board. He was in a good mood and with that came a desire to fight as it always did. Looking over the various jobs he finally spotted one for taking out a somewhat larger Dark Guild, and it offered a good amount of money for an A rank. Grabbing it Naruto turned to see that Makarov had already told Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Happy and Erza about the alliance with Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale and Cait Shelter. Scanning the room Naruto spotted the person he was looking for and walked over the the metal studded Gajeel.

"Let's go!" Naruto grinned as he grabbed his shoulder and started dragging him out the door "We're going hunting Scrappy!"

"HEY! Let me go damn it!" Gajeel shouted in outrage "And who are you calling Scrappy?!"

"You." Naruto smiled as he showed him the job "Since we aren't going with Natsu and them to beat up Ocarion Seis we are going to hunt down our own Dark Guild!"

Gajeel blinked at that and after shaking himself out of Naruto's grip started walking with the older mage.

"So you wanted me to come with you to take down a Dark Guild?"

"Hell yes." Naruto nodded.

"Why?"

"Because you're strong and have given your best to become a part of Fairy Tail." Naruto replied "That kind of effort deserves respect."

Gajeel blinked before asking "Even though I was a part of Phantom Lord?"

"So was Juvia and she's working hard to be part of the guild too. Though I am a little worried that she might try and do some immoral things to Gray." Naruto chuckled as they walked out of Magnolia Town "But I honestly don't care who you were before you came to Fairy Tail. You did some bad shit but trust me, my sins were far worse then yours when I joined."

"Your sins?" Gajeel frowned "What did you do?"

"Nothing I want to talk about Scrappy." Naruto chuckled.

"Why are you calling me Scrappy?"

"You are an Iron Dragon Slayer. Metal scraps." Naruto explained as Gajeel glared at him and contemplated hitting him before deciding that it wasn't worth the effort of attacking him on the way to the job that he had been invited on.

It was going to take a day to get to the town that had sent out the job and during that time Naruto and Gajeel traveled in, what surprised Gajeel, a good natured way. Both of them trading stories about fights that they had been a part of, or places that they had traveled to on jobs. By the time they reached the edge of the town the two were chuckling like old friends.

"You're joking." Gajeel smirked "You did not throw a man across a lake."

"Hell yes I did. Bastard tried to stiff me." Naruto chuckled "He skipped ten times, the fat fuck."

"Gi hi hi hi." Gajeel chuckled as they stopped and both froze when they saw the pile of bodies "Did someone beat us here?"

"No clue." Naruto frowned, completely serious as he sniffed the air and his frown deepened as he walked towards the bodies and found that they were all dead with slash and stab wounds on them. They were the Dark Guild that they had come here to deal with but the fact that they were piled up like this, tossed there from the bloody trails, meant that someone had wanted them to see this.

"I only smell one other person." Gajeel growled.

"Same." Naruto nodded as he walked around and noted that the place had been abandoned, no people left at all "Search the place, and be careful."

"Got it." Gajeel nodded, deferring to the elder mage as they started searching through each building.

There were thirty buildings not counting the town hall and in each one there were signs of a slight struggle but it was days old, meaning that the people had been taken against their will. The Dark Guild had been wiped out maybe twelve hours before hand, meaning that the Dark Guild had been responsible for taking the people from their homes and sending them to who knew where. Walking out of the last building the two Fairy Tail mages met outside of the Town Hall and nodding once, Gajeel turned one of his hands into a long club and smashed open the doors while Naruto sent an energy sphere inside of the building to light it and hopefully daze anyone that was still inside. Stepping in they saw that the signs of the struggle was greater here and that there were even more bodies piled up.

"Damn." Gajeel whistled in surprise "One guy did this?"

"Seems like it." Naruto nodded as they walked through, checking each of the rooms as they did and finding nothing of note until they reached the second floor and came to a sight that had Gajeel looking sick. The mayor was dead, his shoulders had metal rods slammed through them as did his wrists while his stomach was a bloody, eviscerated mess that was pooled on the ground near where his feet were hanging off of the ground. Walking into the room Naruto started searching through the notes and realized that this entire job was much more then it had appeared to be.

"Why do this?" Gajeel asked in shock.

"I think I know why." Naruto sighed as went through the desk and found what he was looking for, handing it to Gajeel.

"He sold them..." Gajeel whispered in shock.

"Yeah. And whomever did this made him and the entire Dark Guild pay." Naruto sighed, shaking his head.

"Wh... What now?" Gajeel frowned.

"We find them." Naruto replied.

"Find who? The guy that killed them all or the people?"

"Both. Odds are good that whomever killed everyone here is going after the people to try and save them. I don't approve of the needless killing but that doesn't mean I am going to leave the innocent to suffer. Come on."

Nodding Gajeel was on Naruto's heels as the blond smelled the air as they stepped outside and started leading them to the southwest, chasing after the scent of the man who had delivered retribution upon the corpses behind them. The two kept a decent pace for a few days, this time silence gripping them as they chased after them until they finally reached the end of the trail. The scent had gone cold, likely having been picked up by a carriage of some kind, but not without leaving a message behind.

"Bloody Mound?" Gajeel blinked in confusion as he looked at Naruto in confusion "Any ideas?"

"A few. This is where we part company Gajeel. Head to the Council and inform them what happened in the town."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to look into this clue. I'll file my report later." Naruto sighed "Sorry that this turned out to be a bust."

"We'll go hunt another Dark Guild later." Gajeel grinned as he turned and started off.

Smirking Naruto walked, heading west now as he made his way across the field until it started to turn into a more rocky wasteland. Bloody Mound had been a place that Naruto had only been to once, mainly due to the fact that getting to the top of the plateau was a pain, but also due to why he had last been here. Climbing up the red rock Naruto made his way to the top slowly but surely and as he arrived he was met with the familiar silhouette of the short and dangerous man.

"Been a long time huh Logan?" Naruto called out as he stopped in the middle of the plateau "Saw you found my cottage."

"Took some time. You disappeared for awhile bub." Logan snorted as he turned to face Naruto. He was short, around five foot three, but he wasn't a lightweight as he had plenty of muscle mass on him as well. His hair grew up into two spikes on the side of his head and face was set in an almost permanent scowl.

"Mavis asked me to." Naruto chuckled "You barely aged."

"Same could be said for you."

"I was sealed away so I wouldn't. You... You've been around this entire time. Must be tough."

"It can be. Specially when the one person you're counting on to keep his word disappears because some girl asks." he growled.

"What are you talking about. I kept my end of the bargain. No one has gotten access to the research that shouldn't and I checked the room myself, no one was in there recently."

"Then why are they doing it again?!" he snapped.

"Who?"

"Doesn't matter. I only managed to shut down on of their groups. It was a bigger one but they got a few hundred new test subjects now." Logan growled.

"We'll find them then. And make sure that we shut it down for good."

"Not happening bub." Logan said holding Naruto's gaze "You had your chance and you fucked up."

"Logan, your swore to me"

"I know what I promised Demon." Logan cut him off "But you didn't hold up your end of the deal. If they succeed then I will do what it takes to stop this once and for all."

"Logan, you are walking a dangerous line here. You cross it and I will stop you, just like I did last time."

"I ain't the same as I was then." Logan smirked as he lifted his right arm, keeping his wrist perfectly straight as three claws shot out, but they had definitely changed from the last time Naruto had seen them. When he had first clashed with Logan his claws had been made of bone, dense and strong but not too dangerous. Now they were metal and from the look of them sharp enough to cut through anything now.

"You learned to control it?" Naruto asked in curiosity.

"Had plenty of time to learn." Logan replied as a silence fell over them before he spoke "Look Naruto, you did right by me all those years ago, and I haven't forgotten that, but if they do to someone else what they did to I can't and won't just let it go."

"I know." Naruto sighed "Just promise me you won't do anything rash old friend."

"I don't make promises that I don't intend to keep." Logan smirked "If they succeed I will raise all hell." He started to leave before he stopped "One more thing. There's a new player on the circuit. They're trying to get into the Balam Alliance."

"Really now?" Naruto frowned "Got a name?"

"Called Vindicta. They got some real muscle and if what they say is true they may be more dangerous then the Council thinks." Logan replied "Just a friendly warning."

"Thanks." Naruto nodded as he let the old warrior leave as he stared out over the rocky wasteland. If everything that Logan was saying was true then he was going to have to start searching out this threat before Logan found it and brought his revenge against everyone in Fiore. Not to mention his warning about this Vindicta. Logan stayed away from Dark Guilds in general but if he had brought them up then he had been approached and that meant that he was being recruited. Adding that into the mix with the fact that someone had started the experiments all over again then it added to Logan and whomever this new Weapon X were joining a new powerful Dark Guild that would likely help them get their revenge and wreak havoc across all of Fiore. Staring out further Naruto remembered something that he had been told so many times as a child.

" _When faced with enemies you kill them all before they can grow strong enough to hurt you first. Feast on their flesh if you so desire, drink their blood if that is your whim. Leave nothing behind you but corpses and no one will ever dare to cross you my son."_

"No... I will not be a monster just to end a potential threat. I will do this the way that Mavis would want me to, not the way that you would mother." Naruto muttered as he turned away from the wasteland and started back towards civilization "I will be more then you wanted me to be, I will be what she saw in me that day, and I will make her proud."


	5. Chapter 5

_AN* Hello again to all of you. I am surprised at how many of you liked Naruto and Gajeel working together. In all honesty I thought I was going to get chewed out for it so a pleasant surprise on my part. Now this chapter is a build up one but does offer more insight into Naruto and his past so I do hope you enjoy it. Leave me plenty of reviews so I know if I am doing it right._

 **Wind And Sky**

Naruto let out a sigh as he walked back into Magnolia Town. He had spent a few hours with the Mages Council informing them that despite no one entering the room there were signs of the Weapon X experiments being conducted again as well as passing on Logan's warning for them to keep an eye out for Vindicta, as well as passing along any information about any of them to him. They hadn't been thrilled with that arrangement but when Naruto had informed them that if they refused to do so he would make sure that the public learned of this threat they had agreed to keep his silence and made it an official and ongoing job. With as many safety measures in place as he could manage Naruto continued walking towards the guild hall when he stopped and smelled something new in the hall. Walking in he saw a party in full swing as he surveyed the room and let his nose lead him to the new person in the room.

She was about ten years old with blue hair with a green dress on and seemed to be enjoying herself with the other guild members though the cat next to her seemed rather displeased. Standing over the girl Naruto took a few sniffs to make sure that his nose was correct and got the girl to torn and stare at the blond man towering over her.

"H... Hi." She smiled as he looked down at her and then picked her up under her arms and lifting her up so she was eye level with him.

"Tiny Dragon!" Naruto laughed as he tossed her into the air and caught her again "Tiny Sky Dragon!" The entire guild stopped as they saw the laughing ancient mage holding the small girl before putting her on his shoulders "You're staying with me now."

"HEY! Put Wendy down!" the female cat shouted in anger.

"NO! She's my little sister now!" Naruto snapped back.

"Little sister?" Wendy asked in confusion.

"Sky Dragons are similar to Wind Demons. Therefore you are now my little sister." Naruto stated sagely as the majority of the guild started to laugh at the scene.

"Wind Demon?" Wendy blinked.

"Yep. I'm a Wind Demon Slayer. Which means I can teach you all kinds of super cool wind stuff!" the blond laughed as he moved towards the door "Come on, let's show you how to make tornadoes!"

"NO!" Lucy shouted as tried to stop the blond man from potentially destroying the town "Let her enjoy the party a bit more before leveling the town."

Naruto stared at Lucy before pouting and setting Wendy back down as the cat continued to glare at him.

"Fine..." Naruto sighed as he walked towards the bar "Mira, I need a pick me up. Lucy's being mean."

That got a laugh out of the woman as she grabbed another bottle of Sage Saki and filled his glass for him as he sat down at the bar.

"I heard that your job took an unexpected turn." Makarov said from his seat next to the blond.

"Yeah. It's a bad one." Naruto nodded as he quickly explained what had happened to the guild master and what he had learned from Logan. After finishing explaining what the Council was going to do to try and contain it Naruto lapsed into silence before speaking "This could get messy fast. I might need a few members of the guild on standby just in case."

"You know we will be there for you if you need us." Makarov said "We're a family."

"Only one I've ever known." Naruto nodded with a smile. Turning Naruto watched the party continue until late in the night when everyone was on their way home with Naruto again grabbing Wendy.

"Put her down!" the cat shouted again as she used her magic to fly in his face.

"Down kitty." Naruto laughed as he had Wendy on his shoulders again "You two don't have a place to stay just yet so you are staying with me."

"No." the cat huffed.

"Carla, he's nice enough to let us stay with him." Wendy smiled "And he wants to be our friend."

"Her friend. I'm your older brother now." Naruto laughed "And tomorrow I'm teaching you how to really use wind. My mother told me all kinds of stories about Sky Dragons, most were not very kind but if she didn't like something that gives me all the more reason to like it!"

"Your mother?" Wendy asked "We... Were you raised by..."

"A demon. Yeah." Naruto nodded "It's the difference between Demon Slayers and Devil Slayers. Devil Slayers are taught their magic through other means and only have to conquer their own inner darkness to really harness that power. Demon Slayers are a cut above them. We are more powerful, ferocious and our magics are much more potent. Most demons don't raise humans as they see us as inferior but the ones that do are trying a new way of making more demons."

"So you could turn into a demon?" Carla asked with a frown.

"Nah. I've settled most of my issues." Naruto said "I'm the worst nightmare for demons though since I know so much about them and my magic is perfect for fighting against them. Now enough about me! I want to know more about my new little sister!"

Wendy giggled at that as they made their way to Naruto's apartment with her telling him about her mother Grandeeney and learning Sky Dragon magic, as well as her adventures in Cait Shelter. Naruto listened to each tale and often was laughing with her at the happy memories. Setting her down outside of his apartment building Naruto unlocked the door and opened to reveal a well maintained apartment. The furniture was all new and while there was a light dust coating on some things from his week long absence it was obvious that it was well maintained.

"Not what I was expecting." Carla admitted as they walked in.

"I may be a wild guy but I don't like my living conditions to be a mess." Naruto replied "My godfather made sure I understood that."

"A demon too?"

"No, my actual godfather." Naruto replied "My birth parents chose him since he taught my dad magic when he was a kid. When I got taken by my demon mother he spent years searching for me to try and save me, or at least give me a proper burial. He found me in Fairy Tail not too long after I joined. Spent a lot of time with him when I wasn't on the job."

"He sounds like a nice man." Wendy smiled "Is he a member?"

"I... I don't know where he is to be honest." Naruto sighed "I may not look it but I am over 80 years old and was only just recently unsealed. I don't know what happened to him, though I am still looking so I can visit."

"Oh. I'm sorry." Wendy said with a sad look.

"Don't be." Naruto replied as he motioned for her to follow him "You've got the run of the place. You want to eat, the kitchen is right there and the fridge is fully stocked. The guest bedroom is all yours, and if there is something that you want done to it you let me know and we'll fix it first thing tomorrow. You need anything you just tell me and I'll take care of it."

"Thank you." Wendy smiled as she looked into the bedroom. It was a simple full size bed with blue sheets and blanket on it as well as a few pillows. A dresser was against one wall with a small closet opposite it. There was a small window that looked out onto the street and gave a clear view of the sky while laying in the bed. Wendy and Carla looked around the room a bit more before Wendy smiled and sat on the bed.

"Everything to your liking then?" Naruto asked looking at Carla.

"Yes..." the cat nodded "Thank you for your hospitality."

"Your Wendy's friend." Naruto replied as he walked towards the other bedroom "I'll be calling it a night so keep it to a dull roar you two."

"Good night!" Wendy called out after him as heard the door close to his room.

"He's as odd as the rest of them." Carla sighed.

"Yeah, but he's just as nice." Wendy smiled "He even gave us a nice place to stay."

"Yes." Carla nodded as she leapt onto the bed "But I'm worried that he might be dangerous."

"Because a demon raised him?"

"Yes."

"He doesn't seem dangerous and everyone at Fairy Tail trusts him. I know he's going to be a great friend to us." Wendy smiled as she laid out on the bed and looked up at the sky. Carla just shook her head but decided that it was best to give Naruto a chance before she made a rash judgment against someone that was giving them a place to stay without asking for anything in return.

The next day Naruto had Wendy and Carla outside of the city as he prepared to show them the true power of wind.

"Wind Magic and Sky Magic are very similar." Naruto began "The key difference is that most Sky Magics tend to be focused on a healing aspect more then a combat one. In the end the two are two sides of the same coin. Whatever a Wind Slayer can do a Sky Slayer can do as well, and vice versa."

"So you could learn healing magics if you wanted to." Carla noted.

"I could. But that's not my style." Naruto chuckled "And I can tell that most combat magics aren't your style either Wendy."

"You can!" Wendy exclaimed in shock at him being able to read her like that.

"I'm good at reading people." Naruto chuckled with a grin "Now what I can teach you is a very different way of using your magic instead of the way you were taught."

"What do you mean?"

"The thing about Sky magic is that you focus on the broad picture too much and miss out on the little things." Naruto explained as he made a twisting motion with his hand and a light breeze went past them "Wind is always moving, always flowing. It never hits resistance head on, it always moves past it and wears it down. With that mindset wind is also a cutting element as well. Wind slashes apart anything in it's path and is capable of great damage against other elements, particularly against Lightning since Lightning is naturally weak against Wind and Sky."

"But isn't Wind also an enhancing element?" Wendy asked.

"That it is." Naruto nodded with a grin "Wind can be used to make other magics more powerful not just by enhancing the mage or using Unison Raid, but by enhancing their spell. If Natsu were to use his Fire Dragon's Roar and then you sent a blast of wind behind it what would happen?"

Wendy and Carla frowned for a moment before Wendy spoke up "The fire would get bigger."

"Exactly. It's not Unison Raid but simply using the natural world to your advantage." Naruto nodded "Out of all the elements for magic Wind is the most versatile because it has no true form, and there is no way of stopping the very air because without it everything dies. It can be weakened and it can be polluted but it cannot be stopped." Wendy stared at Naruto with stars in her eyes as he explained and with a grin on his face he continued "Now let's get started."

Naruto had Wendy learning more about the feeling of the wind and how it felt on her skin. She had a pretty good knowledge of this but Naruto explaining that feeling the air itself was different then the wind. Wind could carry smells from greater distances or hamper them just as easily. Moisture in the air could effect things as well along with a multitude of other factors that he had her noting as he sent more light blasts of wind her way and letting her get a feeling for noting the wind composition. Once she had that down Naruto moved on to moving the wind without magic, much like Natsu making fire without using an attack. This was also rather easy for Wendy but Naruto was adamant about her going through all the steps in the correct order and not skipping ahead, as it could have a very different effect if she didn't learn the movements correctly. The third step was more difficult as he had her start using magic to create different forms for the wind. First was to create a sold sphere of wind that would be able to knock an enemy back. Then a wall of wind to stop an attack in it's tracks followed by making the wall into a concave and then convex shape to alter the effect of the shield.

"You're a quick study." Naruto nodded after she finished making the various types of wind walls, getting the girl to pant in exhaustion.

"Thanks." she nodded "I never knew I could make a shield like that."

"It's only as good as the person doing it and it's a basic wind exercise." Naruto chuckled "I'm not surprised you didn't learn it. Wind is all about the details, the little things matter a lot more for what we do and if we don't have it all accounted for we could accidentally mess up weather patterns for other areas because we pulled away a forming storm or pushed one into an area. Got to be careful with what you do with wind, it reaches a lot further then most people think it would."

They decided to call it a day there as they made their way to the guild hall where Wendy was getting to know her fellow mages and Naruto was looking over a few bits of intel that he had requested be brought to the guild.

"Doing research for something?" Erza asked.

"Not quite. Looking for someone." Naruto stated "My godfather Jiraiya."

"Jiraiya? The Legendary Sage Jiraiya?" Erza asked in shock.

"Yeah, the guy who trained some of the most famous mages from a hundred years ago. He taught my biological father and was named my godfather." Naruto nodded "He was a good man, though I only knew him for a few years."

"Why so little?"

"A whole lot of reasons but mostly my sealing chewed up the rest of the time we would have had together." Naruto said with a sad smile "All I'm trying to do is find out where he's buried, or his last sightings so I can find out what happened to him."

"To pay your respects."

"Yeah. Or avenge him." Naruto sighed "He left a letter for me at my cottage outside of the city. Said he was looking into something that we were sure was finished. He claimed to have found new evidence on the matter that said we either got duped or the son of a bitch managed to live through what we did to him."

"You killed?"

"I lost track of the body count years ago." Naruto chuckled darkly "But yeah, we did try and kill this bastard. He's a dark mage. As bad as they get. Only a handful that can trump him in that regard if I'm being fair. Jiraiya recruited me to help him after he learned I was still alive and after we bonded a bit he asked me to help find him. After seeing his handiwork I was in all the way."

"What did he do?"

"Some of the most horrific experiments I have ever come across. Killed thousands of people for his ambitions and as far as I can tell might have actually found a way to cheat death without being cursed."

"Thousands?"

"That we know of. Personally from what I learned I would put the body count a lot higher." Naruto sighed "The thing is that this was Jiraiya's quest. If he was still alive then Jiraiya would track him down no matter where he went and make sure that he was stopped."

"Why didn't the Council get invovled?"

"Jiraiya didn't trust them with this. He had reason to suspect that the bastard had access to their intel and we could never prove otherwise. Not to mention the fact that the early incarnation of the council wasn't exactly the greatest group of people. Most of them were bureaucrats and didn't understand what it was like to be in the thick of it. To them it was all about what was on the paper in front of them and one dark mage weighted against dozens of dark mages in a guild together wasn't a tough choice for them to make. It was why Jiraiya and I worked on this."

"And you didn't ask anyone in Fairy Tail to help?"

"Not really." Naruto sighed "It was a point of contention between me and a few members at the time, Makarov's dad in particular. They wanted to help us but Jiraiya didn't want to get them in trouble for what we would have to do. Fairy Tail was still a young guild back then and in the end Mavis agreed to back off when I promised to come back alive no matter what. I never break a promise, especially to Mavis."

"You and the First were close?" Erza asked in surprise.

"Yeah. She was one of the first humans I ever met." Naruto smiled "She kicked my ass."

"She did?"

"Oh yeah. It was legendary." Naruto nodded with a smile as he looked back at the information "I might even tell you about it one day."

Erza just chuckled a bit as Naruto continued looking at the information that was in front of him. Those little bits of information had been more then anything he had said to anyone outside of Makarov, and learning that he had fought the First and had worked alongside a man that had trained some of the Ten Wizard Saints was a startling and humbling fact.

A few days later Naruto was again sitting at the bar when he heard the sound of the bell ringing.

"What's with the bell?" Naruto shouted as he turned towards the rest of the guild and saw that they had perked up.

"Gildarts is back." Natsu grinned happily.

"You mean our ace?" Naruto asked "Sweet."

"Sweet?" Carla asked with a frown.

"Yeah. I've been looking forward to meeting the strongest man and seeing if he is as tough as I heard." Naruto grinned as he got up and walked towards the door to see that the town was being raised up a bit as a wide path was made directly to the guild "So that's the Gildart's Shift that you told me about."

"Indeed." Makarov nodded as the guild started to settle down a bit in expectation "I'm surprised he's back so soon."

"Well we can ask him why in a bit." Naruto chuckled as the man walked up to the guild and Mira greeted him. As Gildarts realized that it was the Mira that he knew from three years ago Natsu rushed at him for a fight, before being embedded in the ceiling.

"Damn." Naruto chuckled with a grin.

"Gildarts." Makarov called out getting the man's attention "How was the quest?"

Gildarts only laughed a moment before informing them that he failed it too. After apologizing and being told that it wasn't too big a problem he told Natsu to meet him at his house before walking out through a wall he destroyed.

"So that was our ace." Naruto noted with a grin "I like him."

"You barely saw him!" Lucy shouted.

"So?" Naruto asked, genuinely confused.

The rest of the day was spent mostly indoors as Naruto had warned the members that the wind was too heavy with moisture and a storm was on it's way. As they waited indoors Naruto felt an odd sense of foreboding, as though something bad was about to happen and he couldn't do anything to stop it.

It happened too suddenly for any real evasive action to be taken but Naruto sensed the moment the sky opened and a magic hit the town. With only a few moments to react Naruto muttered a curse as he wrapped himself in his Energy Make and enacted a fail safe should he ever be captured by a member of Tartarous, putting himself in a magically sealed bubble that would open after a full day had passed. From inside of his bubble he could still hear and sense what was near him, enough to know that Natsu and Wendy were still free and were on their way towards the magical disturbance that he could feel from above and that Lucy was safe as well.

In Edolas the failed attempt to capture Fairy Tail had forced Erza Knightwalker to be recalled to the capital where the king met with her.

"Your majesty." Knightwalker bowed before the monarch.

"Captain Knightwalker. You have failed to once again apprehend the Dark Guild Fairy Tail." The king stated "We cannot allow them to continue to use magic as they please, and since they have managed to elude you I have chosen to send another in your place."

"Another?" Knightwalker blinked in shock as she saw a figure emerging from the shadows near her to stand next to her before he bowed to the king as well.

"Naruto Namikaze?!" Knightwalker shouted in shock "You released him from stasis?"

"Indeed." Namikaze stated as he went down to one knee "How may I serve you, your majesty."


	6. Chapter 6

_AN* Hello to all of you again. First off I am happy to hear that so many of you liked the sibling bond I have going between Naruto and Wendy. I was a little worried that you all wouldn't like it but thank goodness I was wrong. Now, please enjoy the chapter and leave some more reviews at the end, I like hearing what you all think on the story._

 **Uzumaki vs. Namikaze**

"In hindsight maybe a full day of waiting is too long." Naruto muttered to himself when the seal finally expired and he was free. Standing up he glanced around the ruins and looked up towards the sky at the massive spell that was overhead.

"So you're free as well." a familiar voice said.

"Mystogan." Naruto nodded as he turned and saw the man his face fully revealed "You know, you look a lot like that former councilor."

"Jellal, I know." he nodded "That's because I am not from Earth Land like you are. I am from Edolas."

"That right? Well doesn't matter." Naruto shrugged "So what happened?"

"Anima. It's a device that they made in Edolas to ciphon magic from this world. I have done what I could to hold it back but it's grown too strong."

"So we go there and stop it." Naruto replied with a grin.

"It won't be easy."

"So?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow and getting a chuckle from Mystogan.

"Very well. Take this." Mystogan said as he tossed Naruto a pill "This will allow you to use your magic when you get up there, but be careful. I fear that our two worlds may share a certain symmetry."

"So what, there's going to be another me?" Naruto asked with a frown.

"Yes. And if he is awake I can only advise you to run. He is a monster unlike anything you have ever faced." Mystogan warned, fear in his eyes.

"I was raised by a demon. Let's see what this other me has to offer to that." Naruto snorted "Need a lift?"

"It would make things easier." he nodded.

With a wave of his arm the wind started to pick up into a deafening gale as it then solidified under both men and lifted them up into Anima and from there into Edolas. The landing wasn't as harsh as some that Naruto had had but once he got his footing he took a few sniffs of the air and noted the higher concentration of magic coming from one way.

"Since magic seems to be a hot commodity in this world it's a good bet that way will lead me to the others." Naruto nodded as he started off at a run.

* * *

In the town of Sikka Naruto Namikaze stood aboard his airship, staring down at the town as he sensed something interesting. He was never one to doubt his instincts when a fight was going to break out and he always relished the chance to crush anyone that he deemed a threat to the royal family and their ambitions. A moment later he saw what he was looking for as three people were rushing towards his ship, likely intent on commandeering it.

"Stand down men." Namikaze called out as he leapt down, his twin magical artifacts activating "I'll kill them myself."

"Naruto?!" Wendy exclaimed in hope.

"So you know my name then? I am indeed Naruto Namikaze, the king's personal demon." Namikaze grinned as he threw off the blood red cloak he wore to reveal his weapons in full. The entire magical system took up his entire upper back that in turn went down both of his arms, covering them in black and green metal. Midway down each forearm was a raised section that looked like it was meant to shoot something out of it while further down the metal ended with five claws that would extend to cover his fingers, turning them into real claws.

"This is the Edolas version of him." Lucy said as she prepared to summon Loke.

"Edolas version?" Namikaze blinked before a grin split his face "Ah so you must be from Earth Land. How very interesting indeed. Tell me, is the me from that world strong too?"

"Stronger then you!" Natsu shouted.

"How intriguing. I do hope he wasn't caught up in Anima or that would be such a disappointment. A might foe being turned into our infinite magic" Namikaze mused "Well it matters little. Go ahead girlie, use some of that magic you Earth Landers are so proud of. Show me what you can really do."

"You asked for it then! Open the Gate Of The Lion, Loke!" Lucy shouted as she thrusted out the key. However in place of the spirit of the lion, a completely different spirit appeared.

"Virgo?!" Lucy shouted.

"It seems like you are going to be a disappointment." Namikaze chuckled as the claws dropped into place "Oh well. Let me hear you scream a bit before you die!"

Lunging forward he swung his clawed right hand towards Virgo who leapt back to avoid the slash before she realized the real danger of the claws as slash marks appeared on her before she disappeared back to the Celestial Spirit World.

"What happened?!" Wendy asked in shock.

"It was his claws. They reached her somehow." Carla noted with a worried frown.

"Very observant little Exceed." Namikaze grinned "These weapons were given to me by the king himself. With these weapons I can kill anyone that gets in our way."

"This is bad." Lucy said in fear as Namikaze started forward again. Before he took more then a few dozen steps he stopped and leapt backwards, avoiding a magicmobile that had swung into view.

"Hurry up and get in!" the driver shouted.

"You won't get away from me Fairy Tail Scum!" Namikaze roared as he went to slash at the vehicle. As he was about to the door was kicked open and right into Namikaze's face, knocking him back long enough for the Earth Landers to climb in and be on their way.

"Sir?!" one of the soldiers shouted "Shall we pursue?"

"No..." Namikaze spat as he stood up "No, that vehicle likely belongs to those scum's fastest driver. Nothing we have will catch him. Let them go for now, besides there is the much more interesting question."

"What question sir?"

"Why are two Exceed leading three Earth Landers towards the capital?" Namikaze grinned "This day is getting interesting after all."

* * *

Naruto sighed as he finally managed to reach his destination. He had been travelling for an entire day and he now stood overlooking the capital city and his nose was telling him that things had gotten bad. He could smell Natsu, Lucy and Wendy were in the city somewhere and he also noted the smell of Gray and Erza. Frowning he walked into the city flexing his fingers regularly so he could send a blast of wind at anyone that got in his way. Stopping a short distance away from the castle Naruto glanced up to the sky when a short breeze brought the scent of Happy and Carla to him.

"Now where are you little guys?" Naruto muttered as he glanced around the sky and spotted them, along with Lucy being carried by Happy "Ah. So if you are saving her that means that the others were captured too."

Taking a deep breath Naruto focused his senses and realized that there were more enemies approaching and it was now time to act as he saw the army of Exceed approaching.

"Wind Demon's Rage!" Naruto shouted, sending the army of Exceed flying in disarray as he leapt over to where Lucy and the two cats were "Look at you guys, always getting into trouble without me. I'm starting to think you don't like having me around."

"Naruto!" Lucy exclaimed.

"The one and only Demon Of Fairy Tail." Naruto grinned "Let's reap a little fear shall we?! Wind Demons Severing Claws!" Swinging his arms forward the wind magic formed the blades of wind that had the Exceed retreating.

"We know where Wendy and Natsu are! Come on!" Carla shouted.

"Go then! I'll buy you all the time you need." Naruto promised with a feral grin as he sent another blast of wind out. Nodding to the two Exceed and Lucy flew off towards one of the towers when Naruto stopped, his nose picking up a scent that he was certain should be impossible as he glanced up to the sky and saw an airship approaching on the wind, with a scent that smelled almost like his own.

* * *

"Sir, we have reports of Fairy Tail mages attacking the capital, and we have also received word that his majesty has activated Code ETD."

"Is that so." Namikaze grinned from where he stood in the bow of the airship "Then it's time to bring about Eternal Magic like this majesty desires. Now, tell me about this attack?"

"The first report is of a man potentially identified as one of the Earth Land Dragon Slayers. He has apparently done something to the giant Lacrima in front of the palace. Soldiers are engaging him but don't seem able to match him. The other report is of a blond man sending blasts of wind at any of our soldiers that are trying to get near the palace. He seems to bare some resemblance to you sir."

"Resemblance to me." Namikaze chuckled "Take me to him. That is the prey I have long desired."

"Yes sir." the soldiers nodded as they adjusted the course of the ship and brought it directly towards their commanding officer's destination.

* * *

Naruto frowned as the scent grew stronger as the ship started to descend. Deciding that a fight in the middle of the city would be a bad idea Naruto made a small cyclone under his feet as he leapt away from the palace and towards the outskirts of the city, noting that the airship seemed to adjust it's course to follow him.

"So you want to play with me huh?" Naruto smirked as he leapt again "Well follow the leader." Leaping three more times had Naruto landing with a cloud of dust in the middle of the desert, the city just visible in the distance. Standing Naruto watched as the ship lowered itself and once it was almost touching the ground a man leapt down and Naruto blinked as he gazed upon his Edolas counterpart.

"So this is why you ran off. You wanted a better arena." Namikaze laughed as he stood across from Naruto while signaling the airship to leave "I was worried that you were a coward."

"Coward? I've never been such a thing." Naruto replied "So you're my other self. Names Naruto Uzumaki, the Demon Of Fairy Tail."

"Naruto Namikaze, the king's personal demon." Namikaze nodded "Fairy Tail huh? To think my other self would remain with that bunch of fools."

"Oi! Watch who you call fools. They happen to be my family." Naruto warned with a growl.

"Family." Namikaze sneered "Who needs that when you have purpose?"

"I think I'm going to enjoy this more then I should." Naruto snarled now "Wind Demons Sundering Wings!"

As the magic headed for Namikaze the man just grinned as he held up his arms and let the magic draw near before it started to get absorbed by the two openings on his forearms.

"Thanks for the powerboost." Namikaze laughed as he slashed at Naruto with his claws, marks appearing on the ground from the attack.

"Thank you for the meal!" Naruto countered as he opened his mouth and inhaled the attack getting Namikaze to blink in shock "Thing is, I'm as close to a real demon as you are ever going to find. I eat wind, so all of your attacks are useless against me."

"Is that so?" Namikaze grinned "Well all of your attacks are useless against my Devourer Armor. All magic gets broken down into it's Lacrima base and then transformed into my weapon. So it appears we are at a stalemate."

"Maybe." Naruto admitted.

"Or that's what I would like you to think!" Namikaze roared as he lunged forward and slashed at Naruto with the claws, forcing Naruto to dodge around the slashes as Namikaze was now using the Lacrima to make the claws larger and harder to avoid. Twisting past him Naruto shot ou a quick kick to Namikaze's knee to knock him off balance as Naruto slammed his fist into his palm.

"Engery Make: Chains of Submission!" From his hands the white energy shot out and wrapped around Namikaze, pinning him to the ground as Naruto stared down at him "That's what you get for underestimating me."

"I should be telling you the same thing." Namikaze chuckled as his claws cut through the magic and allowed his arms to move enough to absorb the magic from the chains "Just give up, you can't beat me."

"And you think you can?" Naruto asked as he dodged another slash.

"Oh I know that I can." Namikaze chuckled "There's a reason the royal family has kept me in stasis. I'm too useful a tool to let the ravages of time destroy."

"And that's all you will ever be. A tool." Naruto countered as he made a shield out of energy to divert a slash as he used the disappating magic to slam a fist into Namikaze's face followed by a kick to his stomach to knock him back a few steps.

"Maybe. But better a tool then a fool in a guild." Namikaze chuckled "Or a corpse."

"You think you can kill me now too? You really are delusional." Naruto grinned as prepared to attack.

"I know I can. The only person who could ever match me is already dead. Her head mounted in the King's study!"

"What...?" Naruto blinked in shock as Namikaze struck. Naruto was barely able to dodge this time and completely unable to counterattack as Namikaze kept the pressure up.

"What you don't know? I'm sure your Fairy Tail was founded by a Mavis just like mine was. Well she took me into the guild when I had nowhere else to go. Gave me a new place to call home. Thing is that on a mission for the King's father I saw true power at it's peak and desired to have such power for myself." Namikaze explained as he pushed Naruto further across the desert "They offered me this armor, this ultimate weapon and in exchange all I had to do was swear my undying loyalty to them. And when they asked for proof I was more then happy to oblige."

"What did you do?" Naruto asked in shock as he managed to block a slash before being overpowered and sent flying several feet away, landing in a heap.

"What did I do? I did what I was commanded to. I brought them Mavis's severed head!" Namikaze laughed "The look on her face was priceless! She never suspected that I would turn on her like that. That I would live up to my demon monkier!"

Time seemed to stop as Naruto slowly rose, his magical power skyrocketing as his rage rose just as fast.

"You killed her?" Naruto said quietly "You killed Mavis all in the name of power."

"So what? You would have done the same!"

"No..." Naruto said, his calm voice hiding his rage "No, for Mavis I would have slit my own throat. I would have never hurt a hair on Mavis's head, even if it meant losing everything. No... You and I are not the same. And in the end you boast of death but are nothing more then a filthy human. Let me SHOW YOU THE TRUE TERROR OF A DEMON!" With a wordless howl his magic spiked as Namikaze laughed louder.

"You forgetting that I can absorb all your magic?"

"Try and absorb this then." Naruto countered holding both hands up as two spellseals appeared "Wind Demon's Energy Make: RasenShuriken!" In Naruto's hands appeared a green sphere just smaller then his head as from it grew four curved blades, giving it a pinwheel appearance "You should be honored scum. You're going to be the second person to ever witness this technique. Though like the first one I doubt you will survive the experience."

"Big talk from a little weakling!" Namikaze laughed as he leveled his arms toward Naruto "Let's get this recharge over with!"

"For Mavis. And for all the other countless innocents that you have killed. DIE!" Naruto roared as he sent the spiraling attack flying towards Namikaze as he tried to absorb it. What he didn't expect was the two magics mixing together to create something completely unstable. As the Devourer Armor tried to absorb the magic it caused the attack to detonate, triggering a chain reaction in both absorption ports, triggering smaller explosions.

Namikaze screamed in utter agony as his arms were completely shredded and he fell to the ground, blood pouring from the stubs where his arms used to be. Walking over to him Naruto stood over Namikaze and stared down at the fallen man as he spoke quietly.

"It doesn't matter what pretty names you give yourself. In the end all you are is a monster clothed in human flesh. The more I try to escape from your philosophy mother the more I am drawn back to it. In this moment, I am nothing more then a monster." Naruto said as he created a blade of wind and jammed it straight down into Namikaze's eye, killing the man where he lay "But I would rather be a monster in this world, then to allow this scum to continue to draw breath."


	7. Chapter 7

_AN* Hello again. I know this one took awhile, mainly because I was having a hard time with certain parts of this chapter. Leave your reviews at the end as always, they motivate me more then you might think._

 **Vindicta Pt.1 Bestial Vengeance**

Naruto stood over the corpse of his counterpart and stared up at the sky as he felt the draw of magic being pulled away from this world and knew that he wouldn't be here much longer. A part of him was still angry and bloodthirsty, wanting to lay waste to the capital and every person in there that had supported such monstrous actions but he could hear Mavis in the back of his head, repeating the words she had told him all those years ago when he had joined Fairy Tail.

" _Demons don't cry, not even from happiness. So you have to be a human, and humans know how to show mercy, even to those that don't deserve it sometimes.."_

"You're right Mavis." Naruto sighed as he stared at the capital "Let them live in a world without their precious magic. I won't dirty my hands any further then this. I've avenged the Mavis of this world and that is enough."

Focusing on the wind he took off into the air, heading up towards Anima as it opened fully and pulled every scrap of magic with it, landing quietly on the edge of the wooded area where the entire guild was deposited, along the entire Exceed nation. Keeping his distance Naruto listened quietly as the Exceed explained themselves about the eggs that they had sent to Earth Land, before leaving to find the other eggs, while one of them stayed behind named Panther Lily who had been a guardian to Mystogan and wished to join the guild that he had been a part of, including now bringing forward a girl named Lisanna.

He listened to her story quietly on the edge of the group before letting out a chuckle that got their attention.

"You know that your siblings are waiting right?" he asked with a smile "You better hurry to the cathedral."

She blinked at this before smiling and running off with Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Gray and Erza following after. Still chuckling Naruto walked towards the city and let his mind push away the terrible thoughts of his other self.

* * *

A few days passed quietly as things went back as close to normal as they got in Fairy Tail. With Lisanna back now Mira and Elfman were much happier. As Naruto sat at the bar looking over some more reports on potential leads to Jiraiya's last whereabouts he heard a commotion as a man bearing they symbol of the Council arrived.

"I have an urgent message for Naruto Uzumaki!" he shouted as the blond demon slayer stood and the members of the guild stepped aside to let the man hand off the letter.

"Thanks." Naruto nodded as he opened it and he blinked as he read the paper a few times before muttering a few choice words.

"Everything ok?" Mira asked with a frown.

"No..." Naruto said as he nodded to Makarov to see the notice "We have a serious problem."

Makarov read the the letter and his face paled considerably as he looked at Naruto.

"Do what you must."

"Alright!" Naruto shouted getting the guild to stop and look at him "Natsu, Erza, Gray, Wendy, Lucy, Gajeel! Get your gear and meet me outside of town! You have ten minutes!"

"What?!" Lucy blinked in shock.

"What's going on?" Erza frowned now. Naruto had never barked out orders like this. He usually just grabbed whomever he wanted to come with him on a job and walked out the door. If he was shouting at them specifically then something serious was going on.

"Details later." Naruto snapped as he was out the door in a moment, a loud gust of wind indicating that he took to the sky himself to cross the town.

"Do as he says." Makarov said quietly "This is a serious matter that he wants only those that he trusts to be with him. In earlier days it would have been Mavis and my father going with him..."

Natsu grinned as he and Happy rushed out the door with Gajeel and Panther Lily right behind them, both dragon slayers looking forward to a chance to work with Naruto, who only took the most challenging of missions.

* * *

Ten minutes later the small group was just reaching the desired meeting point where Naruto was already waiting a small twister of air circulating around him.

"Good. We need to move fast." he said as he started off at a brisk walk towards the coast.

"Where are we going?" Erza asked.

"There's a ship in the harbor waiting for us. The Council is sending us to a small island."

"Why?" Lucy asked in confusion.

"Because their own sins are returning to haunt them." Naruto replied "It seems as though an old friend of mine has decided that he won't wait for justice to run it's course and has taken the road of vengeance."

"Is this about that job we took together?" Gajeel asked with a frown.

"It is. What I am about to tell you is an S rank secret that the Mage Council cannot afford to get out." Naruto said "The fact that I am telling you all this should show how bad things are looking."

"What is it?" Carla asked.

"He was known as Weapon X. An experiment made by the first Mage Council. The process was one of the most monstrous things that I have ever encountered, killing thousands of people before X was reborn. It granted him a healing factor that has made him immortal without the Contradictory Curse being applied, along with a body alteration magic that allowed him to create bone claws 90 years ago. Now he has mastered his abilities to a whole new level as before his claws could only pierce but now he has coated them in solid steel, likely by using the iron and carbon that are naturally found in the body to make it."

"Whoa... So he's dangerous?" Gray asked.

"Up until now no. Logan was willing to live a quiet life away from the world. However someone recently started the experiments again. I don't know who and neither did he but he warned me that he wasn't going to be sitting quietly around for this one. If he found out that the Mage Council was in any way involved in this then he will have likely joined Vindicta."

"Vindicta? What's Vindicta?" Lucy asked.

"A dark guild that approached him. After you all took down Orcarion Seis they were vying to fill the gap. And apparently they have the power to do it." Naruto replied "I don't know details but just the name alone sets me on edge."

"Why?" Natsu asked.

"It means Vengeance. A dark guild promising revenge for all those who have been wronged and can't get justice anywhere else... That is a very worrying thought." Erza shuddered a bit "Who knows what kind of powerful mages they have attracted."

"So we take this boat and go after them. Do we know much more?" Panther Lily asked.

"Only that they are going to be on this island, and that they are dangerous. No details, no numbers and we have no other backup coming. Council is calling back the Ruin Knights to defend them and no other guild will be able to respond in time if we fail. We cannot afford to miss." Naruto said grimly as they started to pick up the pace.

A few hours later had them on the boat, with Natsu getting sick over the side of it as they sailed down the coast a ways before moving further out to sea just barely in sight of land. Ahead of them was an island with a large plateau in the center of it. Climbing up the sides of it was a dense pine forest that would stop most of the light from piercing through. The ship stopped a short distance away from the island, not wanting to get any closer then they were already.

"Ok. This is our stop." Naruto nodded as the three Exceed each grabbed their dragon slayer while Naruto made a current of wind to lift himself up while Gray made an ice raft for the rest of them. Landing on the beach they stopped when they felt a slight shudder ripple though the entire island, as though their very presence was unwanted.

* * *

High upon the plateau several people tensed at the trembling.

"It appears that we have company." a man in red remarked from where he stood, in the middle of a complex ceremony "Logan?"

A few short sniffs and a soft chuckle followed "The demon is here."

"Is he now?" a voice asked with an oily sound "This should be very interesting."

"Doesn't matter. Can we hurry this up?" a younger voice asked looking towards the one in red.

"Haste will only cause problems. We must go about this at the right pace."

"Well you might want to hurry up bub. The demon didn't come alone."

"How many?" a quiet voice asked.

"Seven human, three feline." a girl's said from next to Logan.

"Seven? Are they not taking us seriously?" the younger one asked with a snort.

"Just the opposite. If the demon brought back up it means that he knows we are deadly serious." Logan chuckled "The two of us will go and keep them occupied."

"Do you have any specific quarrel with any of them?" the one in red asked.

"No. The demon did right by me as best he could." Logan said.

"Then I ask that you avoid killing if at all possible." he said "I do not like killing mages, nor killing those who have done no harm to a member here."

"Yeah yeah. I know." Logan replied "Come on kid."

"Yes." the girl nodded as she followed after the short man.

* * *

Naruto frowned as the trembling stopped and he sniffed the air.

"Wendy, what do you think?" he asked looking towards the smaller girl.

"It smells wrong here." she said after a moment.

"Wrong?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah." Natsu nodded with a frown of his own "Almost like rotting meat."

"What is this place?" Gray asked.

"No clue. Small islands like this litter the coast." Naruto stated "Could have been anything over the years."

"So what's our plan?" Erza asked.

"That plateau. That's where the smell is the worst and odds are good that's where they are. Try and stick together." Naruto said as he started towards the trees, the others following after him. It didn't take too long for them to lose almost all visible light and Natsu having to take the lead with a hand burning to give them some more light. The sounds of their own steps and breathing the only thing that were heard, not even animals seemed to inhabit this place. As they reached the first signs of the incline Naruto stopped and sniffed the air again and growled.

"So this is how it's going to be huh?" Naruto asked as two figures emerged from the shadows ahead of them.

"You really surprised?" the first asked as Logan stepped into the light "I warned you what would happen."

"I know. And I warned you what would happen as well." Naruto countered as he glanced over at the girl walking out of the shadows. She was shorter then Logan, no more then a child. Her hair was long and dark and her expression like that of a feral animal and the bloodlust coming off of her was almost like a physical wave. Where Logan was all hard and tough muscle she was lithe and built like a dancer, meaning she would be a more agile and flexible enemy then Logan.

"It doesn't have to be like this." Erza said, trying to find a way past.

"Yes it does." Logan replied as he looked at her "I swore I would make those that restarted those experiments pay and I intend to."

"Let's just kill them and get it over with." the girl snarled.

"EH?!" Lucy blinked in shock.

"We aren't killing them." Logan said, like a parent chastising a child for saying something rude "They've done us no harm."

"They have done us no good either." she countered.

"That doesn't mean you kill them." Logan replied "We've talked about this."

"Yes. I do not agree with it." she replied.

"Do you two need a minute?" Naruto asked with a small grin "We can just go on ahead while you two"

"Shut up demon." Logan snapped at him and Naruto's smile dropped "Much as I respect you, you are getting in our way."

"I see..." Naruto nodded as the wind started to pick up "You know that you couldn't take me back then. And odds are in my favor this time."

"That right?" Logan smirked "Thing is me and Laura aren't exactly pushovers, and we don't need to worry about getting hurt either, unlike all of you. We can afford to take more punishment then you can."

Naruto held Logan's gaze for a moment and as he tensed to attack the now identified Laura struck first, launching towards him almost too fast for anyone to follow. Anyone that wasn't Erza Scarlet though as her sword appeared in her hand and blocked the two metal claws that had been heading towards Naruto, who leapt over her and rushed towards Logan who extended the metal claws on both of his hands as he met Naruto's charge. As soon as Naruto and Logan struck a flash of light appeared and the rest of the members of Fairy Tail found themselves paralyzed.

"What's going on?!" Lucy shouted.

"This island is a special place, one of the handful of places where magic naturally wells up." Logan explained as he and Naruto circled each other "When we tapped into it's power we put a few rules into place, one of them being that each battle is one on one."

"So that means numbers don't mean much." Naruto stated.

"Exactly." Logan nodded "And unless you admit defeat your friends over there are trapped."

"We won't back down." Erza warned as she faced off against the young woman.

"Then I'll leave you for the birds to feast on." Laura said in a completely nonchalant manner.

Rushing forward Laura swung her twin sets of two claws at Erza who blocked each one and almost missed the kick that shot towards her, with another blade shooting out of her foot, leaving a deep scratch on the front of her armor. Laura let out a bestial snarl as she kept pushing towards Erza, who had already brought forth a second sword held in a reverse grip that she brought up to block a lunging strike from Laura who tried to twist around her and launch a bladed kick at her back only to find Erza's second sword blocking it before it could reach her.

"Just die." Laura snarled.

"I won't. Not while Naruto needs our help." Erza replied as she twisted her stance slightly and knocked Laura off balance long enough for her to strike the blade whistling as it struck one of her bladed claws and cut through it, along with the second one. Laura let out a cry of anger and pain as blood seeped from the wound and Erza watched in shock as the claws started to regenerate, starting with the bone growing back slowly up into twin points that were soon covered by the metal again.

"I can't die. So you'll have to go in my place." she snarled again as she rushed towards Erza.

* * *

Naruto leaned back from one of Logan's swings and grabbed the arm holding him in place as he slammed his head into the shorter man's face dazing him a moment as Naruto leapt back and slammed a fist into his open palm.

"Energy Make: Weapon." Naruto grinned as the energy took solid form into his hands, taking the form of twin Scorpion Daggers.

"Heh." Logan smirked as he saw the weapons "You were never one to rely on weapons when we first met."

"You've improved your magic, and I've improved my arsenal." Naruto grinned as they clashed, Logan's claws slashing at Naruto in fast and deadly blows that Naruto used the daggers blades to divert and slammed the energy banded fists into Logan whenever he found an opening knocking him back a step each time he landed a blow and using that to land more blows while keeping track of the deadly claws.

The pair shuffled back and forth for several minutes, with Logan soaking up the hits and letting his body regenerate from the blows with ease while Naruto managed to stay just out of reach each time though his coat had a few slash marks in it that Naruto was not thrilled about. Blocking both of Logan's claws Naruto launched a kick into his chest that knocked him back a bit as Erza sent Laura flying and letting the young girl land next to the older man who was getting up and looked at Erza who looked barely winded.

"Give it up old friend." Naruto sighed as he let the daggers disappear "You aren't going to be able to beat us like this."

Laura started to snarl like an animal as Logan put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"And what makes you think we have to beat you?" Logan asked with a smirk.

"Because despite what has happened you know I'm good on my word. You know that I won't let whomever did this to Laura get away with it." Naruto said "And now that they all know too they will help me to make sure that they are brought to justice."

"Just for the council to brush it under the rug?" Logan scowled.

"We will make sure that justice is served." Erza said firmly.

Logan eyed the woman for a moment and then shifted his gaze to the other members of Fairy Tail who all nodded their agreement.

"You're asking for a show of trust." Logan said.

"I'm asking you to trust me. I may have failed you, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Now that I have help I can make sure that this promise is kept."

"Or what?" Laura asked.

"I'll give you my life in repayment." Naruto said.

"WHAT?! NO!" Wendy shouted.

"Naruto" Erza began.

"Deal." Laura said and a pulse shook the island as the magic holding the other members of Fairy Tail disappeared.

"Laura." Logan snarled now "Do you know what you have done?!"

"I made sure that there would be consequences if the demon fails again." Laura replied "He offered his life in exchange and I intend to take it should he fail."

"No way!" Natsu shouted as he was about to rush at Laura and get her to take the promise back.

"I get the feeling that the pulse will force me to keep my promise." Naruto said as he looked Logan in the eye.

"Yeah. It will force you to go to her so she can kill you if you don't bring them to justice."

"No time limit?"

"As long as no one else appears like Laura then no." Logan replied as he stepped off to the side "I don't like what she did, but she has a point. You did fail. They managed to succeed with her, only a matter of time before they refine the process."

"Then I guess I don't have much time to waste. Once we're done here, I'll start hunting them in earnest." Naruto nodded as he started towards the rise of the plateau. The rest of Fairy Tail all traded looks as they ran to catch up to him, knowing that he was deadly serious in this matter.


	8. Chapter 8

_AN* Man this took a while to write. Not even counting some writers block involved in this one just the sheer amount of back tracking and making sure that I didn't unknowingly screw up someone's abilities or something was just a pain. But I am pleased with how this part turned out and I hope that all of you are as well. Anyways, leave your reviews at the end and let me know what you think._

 **Vindicta Pt. 2: Fire And Ice**

"It would appear that the intruders have managed to get past those two." one of the men atop the plateau remarked, turning his gaze down towards the forest below "They are getting closer."

"Are you any closer to completing the ritual?" the younger voice asked.

"Not yet. This is not as simple as you would like it to be." the one in red said calmly as he continued his work.

"If you require more time then we will provide it for you." one man remarked "The two of us should be able to hold them off for awhile yet."

"I trust I do not need to repeat myself about needless bloodshed Hanzo." the one in red stated.

"No you don't. They are not part of the group that I seek vegeance against, so I feel no need to take their lives." the one called Hanzo stated "Let's go Kuai Liang."

The one called Kuai Liang merely shrugged before walking down the steps with his colleague, moving to intercept the intruders on their island.

* * *

"Are we almost out of the forest yet?" Lucy asked as they tried to follow the barely visible game trail.

"Getting closer, but that doesn't mean much." Naruto replied.

"Why's that?" Carla asked with a frown.

"Because getting up that plateau isn't going to be simple. The sides are steep and if we tried to have you three fly some of us up it would only divide our numbers and that is the last thing we want with so many unknowns here." Naruto explained.

"He's right of course." Erza agreed "While Logan and Laura were not powerful mages they were dangerous in their own right. It is safe to guess that the other members of Vindicta are going to be dangerous as well."

"A wise assumption to make." a voice rang out through the trees.

"Who's there?!" Natsu shouted as he tried to find the source of the voice, but not even his powerful nose could pick up a scent.

"A spectre that seeks vengeance." the voice replied "Turn back now. We have no quarrel with you."

"We can't do that." Naruto countered.

"Then it appears that there is only one choice left to us then." the voice stated "Follow the path out of the woods. We await you there."

Trading looks Naruto shrugged as he continued following the path.

"Are we really listening to them?!" Lucy asked in shock.

"They know where we are, better to go and face them head on." Panther Lily remarked.

"Could be a trap." Gray noted.

"Won't know til we spring it." Naruto stated.

The path continued on for a short distance until they stepped out onto the slope of the plateau, standing in a small ruin of stone buildings, with two figures waiting for them. They were dressed in ninja garb, one yellow and one blue, with masks covering their mouths and noses and both stood with a casual readiness that showed their intent to stop the Fairy Tail mages. The only visible weapon was around the waist of the one dressed in yellow, a rope with a kunai knife attached to it.

"Who will face us?" the one in yellow asked calmly.

The Fairy Tail mages looked at each other, trying to decide who would fight before Natsu and Gray stepped forward with the former grinning wildly while the latter had a calm smile on his face.

"So it is decided." the one in blue stated as he moved forward, slipping into his own fighting stance "We take no pleasure in this, but you seek to stop our vengeance and we can't allow that."

"We can't let you guys run wild either." Natsu countered as the island pulsed, and the rest of the members of Fairy Tail were unable to move.

The one in yellow moved first, lunging forward with incredible speed as his rope spear shot at Natsu, causing the young mage to dodge it as he took a breath.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu shouted as the blast of fire shot towards the man who rolled to the side and chuckled as he stood.

"A Dragon Slayer? How rare indeed. Tell me, is it true you can devour all types of fire?"

"Yeah." Natsu grinned.

"Then let us test that." the man said as he sent a blast of yellow fire at Natsu who inhaled and swallowed the flames before making a face and gagging.

"Ugh!" he shouted "What kind of fire was that?! It tasted rotten!"

"Hellfire." the man stated "That was the fires of hell, born from my desire for revenge against those that butchered my family. The Shimei Ryu clan will be avenged, no matter what it takes."

"Shimei Ryu?" Naruto blinked in surprise.

"You are familiar with us?" the man remarked.

"By experience. Your clan was hired to kill me before I joined Fairy Tail. I left several dozen of them to rot in the sun." Naruto replied calmly.

"Ah, the legendary Demon Of The Wastes. You are a story that is told to all young Shimei Ryu trainees, to warn against overconfidence and teach caution in all things." the man chuckled "I was told it by my father, and told it to my son before he died."

"Natsu, be very careful." Naruto warned.

"Why? Who is this guy?" Natsu asked.

"An assassin." The man answered "Trained in martial and magical combat so we may slay any target. I was once known as Hanzo, but now I am Scorpion, a specter of vengeance that cannot rest until the Lin Kuei have been destroyed."

* * *

The man in blue faced Gray with a calm confidence as Gray decided to take the first shot as he brought his hands together in the usual form.

"Ice Make: Lance."

From his hands shot several lances of ice that went towards the man in blue who stepped forward and twisted slightly to avoid the attack as he made a sound like a chuckle before moving in close and then slid, shocking Gray as he knocked him off of his feet where the man launched himself upward to continue the assault. Gray's reaction speed was faster then the followup as he brought his hands together again and created a shield that blocked the attack and allowed him to launch his counter.

"Ice Make: Sword." Gray said as he made the weapon his hand and swung at the man who blocked the strikes with ease before the air around his hand chilled as a sword formed to block Gray's next strike getting the younger mage to blink in surprise.

"You're an ice mage too?"

"Indeed." the man answered "I recognize your style. My grandfather deemed it weak and inefficient for the Lin Kuei to use. When he became Grandmaster he excommunicated him. Him and his family, with their unborn child. So tell me, are you Enzo's grandchild?"

"Enzo?" Gray blinked in surprise "I don't know anyone by that name. The woman who taught me was named Ur."

"Ur... Yes, that would be the name that he would give his daugther. Tell me, is she strong?" he asked.

"She's gone. She gave her life to stop the demon Delloria."

"Stopping a demon. Impressive." the man nodded as he removed his helmet and mask, revealing his face. His hair was black and a short trimmed beard covered his jaw. On the right side of his face was a scar that went down through his eye, though not damaging it.

"Allow me to introduce myself properly now. My name is Kuai Liang a former member of the Lin Kuei clan. I am now referred to as Sub Zero, and I will destroy my family for abandoning it's honor and allowing itself to be led by the sorcerer Quan Chi. That is my vengeance and why Scorpion and I can stand side by side." Sub Zero explained "I wish to know the name of such a prominent wielder of Ice."

"Gray Fullbuster, I'm a member of Fairy Tail." Gray said as he removed his shirt and held his ready stance, blade still gripped firmly in his hand.

"Very well then Gray. Should you survive this encounter seek me out. Ur's teachings were versatile but crude compared to the efficient killing techniques that we developed. Allow me to demonstrate." Sub Zero stated as he rushed in, his hands trailing frost as he swung his blade at Gray.

* * *

Having proven that fire was not going to be the deciding factor of their bout Scorpion and Natsu had moved in close where the older of the two proved his skill in close quarters combat as he blocked each strike that Natsu tried while landing his own with efficiency that would have disabled a lesser man, but against the pink haired mage only served to rile him up more and more as he kept fighting. Scorpion made an agitated sound as he grabbed one of Natsu's arms and tried to twist him into an armlock only to have the mage drop to a low spin kick as fire started to form around his legs.

"Fire Dragon's Claw!" Natsu exclaimed as he struck with a kick that caught Scorpion in his own legs and knocked the older man to the ground where he quickly rolled to dodge the axe kick that Natsu attempted in follow up. Standing now Scorpion spun his rope spear a few times, moving the weapon in a complex pattern as the hellfire began to travel down the rope, turning the weapon into a burning deathtrap for anyone that grew overconfident.

Natsu watched the weapon with a grin as he rushed forward his entire body covering itself in fire "Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!" Natsu shouted as he launched himself forward in an attempted headbutt that Scorpion simply stepped forward before flipping over the pink haired mage, his rope spear wrapping around Nartu's neck and then tightening, bringing the mage to his knees as his eyes widened in surprise.

"I will not ask for your forgiveness for this. I only ask that you accept your death and I will make it quick." Scorpion said as he tightened the rope.

Natsu made a gagging sound as Lucy, Happy and Wendy all shouted in horror.

"Dragon, if you die here I will be very pissed." Naruto said quietly, his eyes locked onto Natsu's.

Natsu seemed to draw into himself as scale like features began to appear around him as his fires intensified until the rope could no longer hold him and snapped as his Dragon Fire consumed the Hellfire.

"You aren't going to win yet." Natsu panted as he stood up "You might be tough, but you're only fighting to get even with the people that hurt you. I'm fighting for my friends, my nakama!" Standing tall now he stared down Scorpion who's gaze shifted from mild surprise to burning rage.

"Your nakama?" Scorpion repeated as hellfire began to appear around him, encasing his entire body in it's eerie yellow light "You think that because of your guild that you are something more then what you are? I will show you that all are equal before me!" The flames rose up into a pillar of yellow fire before it faded down and the mask that Scorpion had been wearing up til that point was gone, revealing only a skull encased in yellow fire and bringing only hatred and vengeance along with it.

"Oh shit." Naruto cursed.

"What just happened?" Gajeel asked in confusion "Is he already dead or something?"

"Something far worse." Naruto stated quietly "He's a revenant. A human soul that has returned to the mortal plane. He must have actually died when his clan was destroyed, which explains what's happening now."

"What's happening?" Wendy asked, looking a little scared of the man.

"He is consumed by his hatred and his thirst for revenge. He currently sees Natsu as a barrier to accomplishing his goals and being able to pass on to the next world and thus he is going to do everything in his power to kill him here and now."

"And he wasn't trying to kill him before?" Carla asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Before he was mostly human. Now, he's just another monster albeit one with a lot more power and a mastery over the fires of hell." Naruto explained "The worst part about this is he won't tire, he won't start to run out of magic or stamina. He will keep coming until he is put down. The longer this fight drags on the more danger Natsu is going to be in."

* * *

Gray dodged around another attack and saw the ice starting to form from his sides as half a dozen spears attempted to spear him, forcing him to leap to the air and counter.

"Ice Make: Arrows." he said as he created the bow and fired a dozen arrows in rapid order, six to stop the spears that had started to curve up toward him and another six heading for Sub Zero who used his clone trick to let the arrows impact the copy and then to his shock watched as they pierced the copy and kept coming for him, forcing him to repeat the action two more times to avoid the attack.

Rushing forward Sub Zero sent a blast of ice shards towards Gray who saw them coming and launched his own counter, shouting "Ice Make: Shield!" as a flower like shield appeared in front of him and withstood the attack.

"Ice Make: Ice Geyser!" Gray shouted, freezing the ground in front of him that rose up into a tower with spikes extending off of it to try and stab Sub Zero who leapt from spike to spike, avoiding the impaling as he reached the top where Gray was, having already made another Ice Make: Sword and bringing the weapon against Sub Zero who made his Kori Blade and blocked the slash, launching his own attack a few times before blinking as he heard the cracking sound and Gray's next slash shattered his blade, forcing Sub Zero to barely dodge the strike as he managed to land a kick that moved Gray back a step to the edge of the platform where Sub Zero kept his defensive stance.

"I see now." Sub Zero said "Enzo was no fool in designing this style."

"My ice is stronger." Gray noted as well "Your sword shouldn't have broken like that."

"Indeed. It appears that he sacrificed speed in exchange for a vast increase in power." Sub Zero nodded "It is far superior to anything I have seen used by my family."

"Thanks." Gray said "This mean you're going to quit?"

"Hardly." Sub Zero chuckled now "I admit that your magic is indeed great but I am still not yet convinced that you are the better here."

"That so..." Gray remarked.

"I have high standards for Ice mages." Sub Zero nodded "But know this Gray Fullbuster, you have managed to earn my respect. A feat that only a handful of individuals have ever earned. Let us see if you can reach the level that I deem you worthy of."

Gray only grinned as Sub Zero rushed him, swinging his blade up to let the man deflect it before using a free hand to grab him and flip backwards, sending Sub Zero crashing towards the ground while Gray continued the assault.

"Ice Make: Cannon!" Gray said as he made the large weapon and sent the giant block of ice flying towards Sub Zero who only had a split second to dodge, managing to create a sheet of ice under him and slide out of the way as Gray landed and fired again making the blue clothed assassin dodge and send several icicles flying towards Gray, forcing him to abandon the Cannon and dodge around them as he moved in close again with Sub Zero who matched him blow for blow, a smile on his lips as they clashed and the former blood lust that had been felt disappating, only for both of them to feel it increase over where Scorpion was fighting Natsu, getting both of them to pause and look over at the pillar of yellow fire.

"Your friend is going to die." Sub Zero said his eyes wide in shock.

"What?!" Gray asked in shock.

"He has awoken Hell Scorpion. Nothing will stop him now." Sub Zero said with certainty.

"Heh. You don't know Natsu very well." Gray said with all certainty himself "Nothing stops Salamander, not when his nakama need him."

"Is that so? Well we will see who survives." Sub Zero nodded as he faced Gray again and renewed his assault.

* * *

The fight with Scorpion had grown far more vicious as Scorpion no longer cared how much damage he took and soaked up blows like a sponge does water, and his counters were always coated in Hellfire making it harder for Natsu to soak up the blows that he couldn't block or dodge. Skidding back from a powerful combo Natsu took a deep breath as a familiar seal appeared in front of him "Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu shouted as he sent the fire racing towards Scorpion who kept walking forward, letting the fire roll over him as he did and once the flames stopped he was still standing, his Hellfire having protected him from the worst of the flames though his progress had been stopped.

"You cannot defeat me. Die." Scopion said as he all but disappeared from sight, appearing in front of Natsu with a fist heading right for his face. Natsu managed to roll with blow and only saw the glint of light in time to use a jet of fire to lift himself up and out of the path of the blade of the rope spear.

"And I told you, I won't lose." Natsu said with a snarl as he rushed forward "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

The fire coated fist slammed into Scorpion who's skull jaw lowered slightly to show his surprise at the power of the blow as it sent him flying back a short distance, though the shock only lasted a few moments as the rope spear shot out and wrapped around Natsu's extended arm.

"Get over here!" Scorpion shouted as he yanked Natsu forward, shocking the pink haired mage as the revenant got his footing and grabbed the incoming Natsu by the throat before slamming him to the ground with a thunderous impact before lifting him up again only to have Natsu slam a fiery fist into the side of the skull to knock him off balance before sending in a flurry of more blows that made Scorpion take a few steps back before he regained his bearing and used the rope spear to ensnare an incoming blow and slammed a foot into Natsu's stomach, only for the Dragon Slayer to stand there unflinching as his left arm burned brightly as it slammed into Scorpion's stomach, lifting him from the ground as Natsu used his trapped right arm to pull Scorpion back again and again until he stopped and with another Fire Dragon's Iron Fist sent Scorpion and his rope spear flying into the ruins of another building.

"You are a fool." Scorpion said as he emerged from the ruins of the building "Hellfire!" Lifting a hand upward the fires of hell appeared underneath Natsu, getting the mage to blink as he leaped upward and started to inhale the flames, despite the sickened look on his face as he did so, stopping only once the flames were all gone. Natsu only realized this was a distraction as Scorpion again moved too fast for normal eyes to track as he appeared behind Natsu and slammed a blow into the back of his head, sending Natsu flying before sending a blast of hellfire towards him smashing into Natsu's back, and getting a cry of shock from the mage as he stood up.

"And still you stand. You are growing tiresome." Scorpion sneered.

"I'm not finished yet." Natsu replied as his fires blazed brighter "I'm going to finish this with this next attack."

"Is that so? Then show me this pitiful attack so I can lay you to rest."

"Crimson Lotus: Fire Dragon's Fist!" Natsu shouted as he crossed the distance between them in a flash and slammed into Scorpion with a powerful explosion that stunned the revenant assassin until he was sent flying into the air where Natsu revealed the final trick as he started to inhale, swallowing the flames that had been pouring off of Scorpion since he had revealed his skull head.

"Clever." Naruto grinned now "The attack was meant to stun him long enough for Natsu to remove his source of power."

True to Naruto's observation Natsu was indeed draining Scorpion of his power as the revenant let out a cry of anger and anguish as the flames disappeared and he in turn disappeared, only his echoing cry remaining.

* * *

"Looks like Natsu won." Gray remarked as his Ice Make: Battle Axe smashed through Sub Zero's ice wall, but not before the assassin had used the wall to flip bast Gray and take his back.

"Perhaps, but you should be more concerned with our battle." Sub Zero replied as he disarmed Gray.

"That right? Cause from where I'm standing this battle is over." Gray replied as he blocked the follow up kick and slammed a fist into Sub Zero's face, knocking him back a step.

"Oh really now?" Sub Zero asked with a grin.

"Yeah. Ice Make: Knuckle!" Gray grinned as the giant fist shot up underneath Sub Zero who used the blow to lift himself into the air and launch his counter attack as he brought a new kori blade into his hands and somersaulted to increase the power of the strike bringing it crashing down onto Gray, slashing right through him before he could finish his next spell.

"Foolish." Sub Zero sighed as he looked up at Gray's body, only to see ice falling to the ground.

"My thoughts exactly! Ice Make: Gungnir!" Gray shouted as the ice spear crashed into Sub Zero, trapping him in ice as the elder ice mage realized that the switch had happened right when he had made the Knuckle to lift him up as he had glanced down to make sure that it wasn't going to keep pursuing him and had thus removed his gaze from Gray who had used an ice clone to keep him focused while the real him had managed to move behind him and launch his counter, along with trapping him inside of the ice.

As soon as Sub Zero was trapped the paralysis over the rest of the members of Fairy Tail fell away and with good hearted cheers they were moving on their way again.

* * *

Once the mages of Fairy Tail were out of sight Sub Zero shattered the ice holding him with a chuckle as he turned his gaze over to the scorched half of the battlefield. In a whisp of smoke and hellfire Scorpion appeared, his mask back in place.

"You were defeated as well?" Scorpion asked in surprise.

"Gray Fullbuster was a more clever foe then I gave him credit for." Sub Zero admitted freely.

"As was the dragon slayer that I fought." Scorpion nodded "Bested by two young men who should have fallen to us like wheat to a scythe. We must have gotten soft."

"Perhaps, or perhaps they are simply the next generation ready to outpace us." Sub Zero offered in counter, getting the revenant to chuckle at that "That amuses you?"

"It is the first time I have tasted defeat in such a long time. I forgot how it feels to have something to strive for other then revenge. It is refreshing." Scorpion replied.

"So what now?"

"We wait and see. If he is successful then our vengeance will be complete, and if the mages of Fairy Tail should succeed we will simply seek it another way." Scorpion stated as he stared up towards the plateau "Let us see what they can do."


End file.
